{"id":{"repo_id":"plymouth","oai_identifier":"oai:pearl.plymouth.ac.uk:gees-theses-1555"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/plymouth/oai:pearl.plymouth.ac.uk:gees-theses-1555","repository":{"repo_id":"plymouth","name":"University of Plymouth","base_url":"https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/do/oai"},"display":{"title":"METAL BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF A MINE CONTAMINATED EsTUARiNE-CoASTAL SYSTEM IN SW SPAIN","abstract":"The aim of this project was to investigate the biogeochemistry and transport of metals in a river/estuarine system contaminated by acid mine drainage. The Rio Tinto and Rio Odiel drain a metalliferous mining area in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in the south-west of Spain. The pH values in the rivers were low (< 3) and dissolved metal concentrations were . extremely high, up to 2.6 mM Zn, 860 \\M Cu, 6.0 jaM Cd and 72 nM U . The seasonal cycle of low precipitation and flash floods was identified as an important factor in generating the more severe contamination of the rivers with Fe, A l , Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd observed during autumn and winter, compared to spring and summer. The estuarine behaviour of dissolved Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd was primarily = controlled by pH. Apart from an addition of these metals from the sediment in the upper Tinto estuary, conservative mixing was observed up to pH ~ 5 (at S ~ 30), above which Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i and Co were removed from solution. Voltammetric speciation studies showed that Cu complexing organic ligands (logK'cuL ~ 11-5, CL = 32 - 199 nM) in the estuary were saturated, and thermodynamic calculations indicated that the concentration of Cu^\"^ reached values (pCu^\"^ < 9) that are toxic to some marine and estuarine organisms. The estimation of fluxes indicated that the dissolved metal export from this system to thecoastal zone averages 101 d'^ Zn, 2.3 t d\"' Cu, 180 kg d\"^ N i and 236 kg d\"^ Co, with higher contributions during wet, compared to the dry seasons. On-line measurements of Zn, Cu and N i in the Gulf of Cadiz revealed metal plumes associated with the Tinto/Odiel system and the Guadiana and Guadalquivir rivers. As a result of entrainment by the Atlantic Ocean surface current flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, the metal contamination in waters of the Gulf of Cadiz is transported south and eastward.","abstract_html":"The aim of this project was to investigate the biogeochemistry and transport of metals in a river/estuarine system contaminated by acid mine drainage. The Rio Tinto and Rio Odiel drain a metalliferous mining area in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in the south-west of Spain. The pH values in the rivers were low (< 3) and dissolved metal concentrations were . extremely high, up to 2.6 mM Zn, 860 \\M Cu, 6.0 jaM Cd and 72 nM U . The seasonal cycle of low precipitation and flash floods was identified as an important factor in generating the more severe contamination of the rivers with Fe, A l , Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd observed during autumn and winter, compared to spring and summer. The estuarine behaviour of dissolved Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd was primarily = controlled by pH. Apart from an addition of these metals from the sediment in the upper Tinto estuary, conservative mixing was observed up to pH ~ 5 (at S ~ 30), above which Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i and Co were removed from solution. Voltammetric speciation studies showed that Cu complexing organic ligands (logK'cuL ~ 11-5, CL = 32 - 199 nM) in the estuary were saturated, and thermodynamic calculations indicated that the concentration of Cu^"^ reached values (pCu^"^ < 9) that are toxic to some marine and estuarine organisms. The estimation of fluxes indicated that the dissolved metal export from this system to thecoastal zone averages 101 d'^ Zn, 2.3 t d"' Cu, 180 kg d"^ N i and 236 kg d"^ Co, with higher contributions during wet, compared to the dry seasons. On-line measurements of Zn, Cu and N i in the Gulf of Cadiz revealed metal plumes associated with the Tinto/Odiel system and the Guadiana and Guadalquivir rivers. As a result of entrainment by the Atlantic Ocean surface current flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, the metal contamination in waters of the Gulf of Cadiz is transported south and eastward.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Braungardt, Charlotte"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2000,"date_issued":"2000-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2000-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:49:07Z","subjects":[],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/gees-theses/113","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Braungardt, Charlotte"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2000-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/gees-theses/113"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The aim of this project was to investigate the biogeochemistry and transport of metals in a river/estuarine system contaminated by acid mine drainage. The Rio Tinto and Rio Odiel drain a metalliferous mining area in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in the south-west of Spain. The pH values in the rivers were low (< 3) and dissolved metal concentrations were . extremely high, up to 2.6 mM Zn, 860 \\M Cu, 6.0 jaM Cd and 72 nM U . The seasonal cycle of low precipitation and flash floods was identified as an important factor in generating the more severe contamination of the rivers with Fe, A l , Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd observed during autumn and winter, compared to spring and summer. The estuarine behaviour of dissolved Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd was primarily = controlled by pH. Apart from an addition of these metals from the sediment in the upper Tinto estuary, conservative mixing was observed up to pH ~ 5 (at S ~ 30), above which Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i and Co were removed from solution. Voltammetric speciation studies showed that Cu complexing organic ligands (logK'cuL ~ 11-5, CL = 32 - 199 nM) in the estuary were saturated, and thermodynamic calculations indicated that the concentration of Cu^\"^ reached values (pCu^\"^ < 9) that are toxic to some marine and estuarine organisms. The estimation of fluxes indicated that the dissolved metal export from this system to thecoastal zone averages 101 d'^ Zn, 2.3 t d\"' Cu, 180 kg d\"^ N i and 236 kg d\"^ Co, with higher contributions during wet, compared to the dry seasons. On-line measurements of Zn, Cu and N i in the Gulf of Cadiz revealed metal plumes associated with the Tinto/Odiel system and the Guadiana and Guadalquivir rivers. As a result of entrainment by the Atlantic Ocean surface current flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, the metal contamination in waters of the Gulf of Cadiz is transported south and eastward."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["METAL BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF A MINE CONTAMINATED EsTUARiNE-CoASTAL SYSTEM IN SW SPAIN"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Braungardt, Charlotte"],"dc:date.issued":["2000-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The aim of this project was to investigate the biogeochemistry and transport of metals in a river/estuarine system contaminated by acid mine drainage. The Rio Tinto and Rio Odiel drain a metalliferous mining area in the Iberian Pyrite Belt in the south-west of Spain. The pH values in the rivers were low (< 3) and dissolved metal concentrations were . extremely high, up to 2.6 mM Zn, 860 \\M Cu, 6.0 jaM Cd and 72 nM U . The seasonal cycle of low precipitation and flash floods was identified as an important factor in generating the more severe contamination of the rivers with Fe, A l , Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd observed during autumn and winter, compared to spring and summer. The estuarine behaviour of dissolved Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i , Co and Cd was primarily = controlled by pH. Apart from an addition of these metals from the sediment in the upper Tinto estuary, conservative mixing was observed up to pH ~ 5 (at S ~ 30), above which Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, N i and Co were removed from solution. Voltammetric speciation studies showed that Cu complexing organic ligands (logK'cuL ~ 11-5, CL = 32 - 199 nM) in the estuary were saturated, and thermodynamic calculations indicated that the concentration of Cu^\"^ reached values (pCu^\"^ < 9) that are toxic to some marine and estuarine organisms. The estimation of fluxes indicated that the dissolved metal export from this system to thecoastal zone averages 101 d'^ Zn, 2.3 t d\"' Cu, 180 kg d\"^ N i and 236 kg d\"^ Co, with higher contributions during wet, compared to the dry seasons. On-line measurements of Zn, Cu and N i in the Gulf of Cadiz revealed metal plumes associated with the Tinto/Odiel system and the Guadiana and Guadalquivir rivers. As a result of entrainment by the Atlantic Ocean surface current flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, the metal contamination in waters of the Gulf of Cadiz is transported south and eastward."],"dc:identifier":["https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/gees-theses/113"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:title":["METAL BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF A MINE CONTAMINATED EsTUARiNE-CoASTAL SYSTEM IN SW SPAIN"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:49:07Z"}