A detailed insight into the detrital and diagenetic mineralogy of metal(oid)s : their origin, distribution and associations within hypersaline sediments

Rogan Šmuc, Nastja (author), Kovač, Nives (author), Hauptman, Žan (author), Šmuc, Andrej (author), Dolenec, Matej (author), Šoster, Aleš (author)

Hypersaline environments are among the most vulnerable coastal ecosystems and are extremely noteworthy for a variety of ecological reasons. Comprehensive assessment of metal(oid) contamination in hypersaline sediments from Sečovlje (Northern Adriatic, Slovenia) was addressed by introducing the detrital and diagenetic mineralogy and geochemical properties within the solid sediment material. Close associations between Fe/Mn oxides and oxyhydroxides with As, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn, and between organic matter with Cu, Pb and Zn were confirmed using X-ray powder diffraction, SEM-EDS and ICP emission spectrometry analysis. Possible incorporation or adsorption on the crystal lattices of clay minerals (As, Cr, Pb, Sn and Zn), halite (As) and aragonite/calcite (Cd, Cu, Pb, Sr and Zn) were also detected. All presented correlations were highlighted by various statistical analyses. The enrichment factor (EF) values showed a low degree of anthropogenic burden for As, Bi, Hg and Zn, while Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn and Sr originated from the geological background. These results emphasise that a detailed mineralogical and geochemical characterisation of solid (especially detrital and diagenetic) sediment particles is crucial in further understanding the metal(oid) translocation within the hypersaline ecosystems.

• Language: English
• Keywords: metal(oid), hypersaline sediment, detrital mineralogy, diagenetic mineralogy, Sečovlje Salina, Northern Adriatic
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: NTF - Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 22 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 11, art. 1168
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-136447
• UDC: 55
• ISSN on article: 2075-163X
• DOI: 10.3390/min11111168
• COBISS.SI-ID: 81999875
• Publication date in RUL: 04.05.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Minerals
• Shortened title: Minerals
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2075-163X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 519985177

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.11.2021

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: J1-1712
• Name: Zapis okoljskih sprememb in človekovega vpliva v holocenskih sedimentih Tržaškega zaliva