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HERO ID
1070356
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Occurrence and geochemical behavior of arsenic in a coastal aquifer-aquitard system of the Pearl River Delta, China
Author(s)
Wang, Y; Jiao, JJ; Cherry, JA
Year
2012
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
Science of the Total Environment
ISSN:
0048-9697
EISSN:
1879-1026
Volume
427-428
Page Numbers
286-297
Language
English
PMID
22554534
DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.04.006
Web of Science Id
WOS:000305111300032
Abstract
Elevated concentrations of arsenic, up to 161μg/L, have been identified in groundwater samples from the confined basal aquifer underlying the aquitard of the Pearl River Delta (PRD). Both aquatic arsenic in pore water and solid arsenic in the sediments in the basal aquifer and aquitard were identified. Arsenic speciation of groundwater in the basal aquifer was elucidated on a pH-Eh diagram. In the PRD, arsenic is enriched in groundwater having both low and high salinity, and arsenic enriched groundwater is devoid of dissolved oxygen, has negative Eh values, is slightly alkaline, and has abnormally high concentrations of ammonium and dissolved organic carbon, but low concentrations of nitrate and nitrite. Results of geochemical and hydrochemical analyses and sequential extraction analysis suggest that reductive dissolution of iron oxyhydroxide could be one of the important processes that mobilized solid arsenic. We speculate that mineralization of sedimentary organic matter could also contribute to aquatic arsenic. Scanning electron microscope analysis confirms that abundant authigenic pyrite is present in the sediments. Sulphate derived from paleo-seawater served as the important sulfur source for authigenic pyrite formation. Co-precipitation of arsenic with authigenic pyrite significantly controlled concentrations of aquatic arsenic in the coastal aquifer-aquitard system.
Keywords
Arsenic; Occurrence; Geochemical behavior; Coastal; Aquifer-aquitard system; The Pearl River Delta
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