Interaction Between Dissolved Phosphorus And Suspended Sediments In A Tropical Estuary
Price
Free (open access)
Transaction
Volume
25
Pages
12
Published
1998
Size
1,153 kb
Paper DOI
10.2495/CENV980211
Copyright
WIT Press
Author(s)
I.E. Payne, R. Szymczak & T.D. Waite
Abstract
Nutrients from the Fitzroy River (Queensland, Australia) may impact on the Great Barrier Reef, a marine area of world significance. In this study, experiments were carried out to determine the equilibrium distribution of phosphorus between Fitzroy River sediments and estuarine water under a range of conditions. The kinetics of sorption processes were also studied. Sorption reactions reached a steady state after about 2 days. The sorption of P was weaker at higher pH values, but did not decrease with an increase in ionic strength. The amount of P bound by sediment particles was limited by the surface site density of the solid phase (about 140 ^mol/g). The Fe content of suspended particles increased moving down the estuary, due to the precipitation of amorphous Fe- oxides. Adsorption of P on freshly
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