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The Geochemical Behavior of Trace Elements in Inshore Environments
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The Geochemical Behavior of Trace Elements in Inshore Environments

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Oceans and Coastal Zones".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 9516

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Tien-Hsi Fang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Marine Environmental Informatics, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelun, Taiwan
Interests: nutrients; trace metals; marine geochemistry; marine pollution; estuarine study
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. François L. L. Muller

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
Interests: fate of land-derived humic substances and metals in river plumes; inorganic trace analysis of seawater; characterisation of marine colloids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The geochemical cycles of trace elements in inshore environments, especially in estuarine and coastal waters, have been significantly modified by anthropogenic influences as a result of the rapid industrialization, population growth, urbanization and resource demand that have occurred worldwide over the last 100 years. Despite these stressful conditions, inshore environments comprise some of the most biologically productive ecosystems anywhere on Earth. As such, water quality is critically important to the coastal populations that depend on tourism, fisheries or aquaculture for their livelihood. How trace element chemistry may change in the future as a direct (pollution) and indirect (global warming, ocean acidification) result of human activities can only be predicted if we better understand the geochemical behavior of biologically active minor and trace elements in the inshore environment. This is because the physicochemical and biological functioning of inshore systems are partly determined by the geochemical behavior of trace elements together with some organic compounds occurring in very low concentrations. In turn, the chemical species formed by these elements and compounds can be significantly altered by many factors, such acid-base reactions, redox reactions, adsorption/desorption reactions with particulate phases, and the modifications may differ among different environments. In this Special Issue, we would like to focus on the study of the geochemical behavior of trace elements that are critically important for marine organisms, either by helping to promote life or by producing harmful compound, in the context of different inshore environments. In addition, the study of the distribution of organic pollutants, such as persistent organic pollutants (POP) and pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in inshore environments is also welcome in this Special Issue. Indeed, the ever-growing threat of organic pollutants to marine organisms may be more significant than that of trace elements in some systems.

Within this scope, we welcome contributions that focus on any aspects of elemental mobility, speciation transformation, biological availability, biological harm as well as methodologies for studying such phenomena in inshore environments. Our aim is to bring together cross-disciplinary scientists, such as geochemists and environmental chemists. We encourage authors who are interested in submitting a manuscript to first submit an abstract or discuss the outline of their ideas with the Guest Editor.

Prof. Dr. Tien-Hsi Fang
Dr. François L. L. Muller
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nutrients
  • trace elements
  • geochemical behavior
  • organic pollutants
  • trace metal cycling
  • inshore marine environment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 7048 KiB  
Article
The Geochemical and Environmental Characteristics of Trace Metals in Coastal Sediment Discharge off the Mailiao Industrial Zone of Central Western Taiwan
by Tien-Hsi Fang and Jie-Ren Chang
Water 2023, 15(2), 250; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15020250 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1552
Abstract
The geochemical fractions of trace metals in the coastal sediments of the central western Taiwan were examined, employing the Tessier sequential extraction method, and the metals contamination status of the analyzed sediments were also evaluated in the present study. Based on the metal [...] Read more.
The geochemical fractions of trace metals in the coastal sediments of the central western Taiwan were examined, employing the Tessier sequential extraction method, and the metals contamination status of the analyzed sediments were also evaluated in the present study. Based on the metal fraction present in sediments, trace metals can be divided into three groups: (1) Al, Cr, Fe, Ni and Zn; (2) Cu and Pb and (3) Mn. In group (1) metal, the metals’ total concentrations were chiefly dominated by the residual fraction, exceeding 80% of the total concentration pool. In group (2) metal, the metals’ total concentrations were dominated by three labile fractions, carbonate, Fe-Mn oxides and organic, accounting for nearly 65% of the total pool, and the residual fraction contributed 35% of the total concentrations. Over 90% of Mn total concentrations were shared by three fractions, carbonate, Fe-Mn oxides and the residual fraction. The statistic results indicated that the total organic carbon contents in sediments played a more important role in influencing the metals contents in sediments. The contamination assessment results suggested that the Mailiao coastal sediments were minorly contaminated by trace metals. Lead should be paid more concerns because Pb total concentrations at some sediments exceeded the value (46.7 mg/kg) of effect range low, USA, and Pb was mainly present in the labile fraction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Geochemical Behavior of Trace Elements in Inshore Environments)
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14 pages, 6942 KiB  
Article
Coastal Groundwater Quality Evaluation and Hydrogeochemical Characterization Using Chemometric Techniques
by Hidayat Ullah, Iffat Naz, Aiyeshah Alhodaib, Muhammad Abdullah and Muhammad Muddassar
Water 2022, 14(21), 3583; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14213583 - 07 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1557
Abstract
The physicochemical parameters and heavy metals concentration in the groundwater of the coastal region of Lasbela, Baluchistan were investigated. Cations and anions were determined through ion chromatography. The concentration levels of eight heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn) in [...] Read more.
The physicochemical parameters and heavy metals concentration in the groundwater of the coastal region of Lasbela, Baluchistan were investigated. Cations and anions were determined through ion chromatography. The concentration levels of eight heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn) in the groundwater were analyzed through the analytical procedures of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The cations were present in the descending order of magnesium > sodium > calcium > potassium and anions as bicarbonate > sulfate > chloride. Two parameters (bicarbonate and total dissolved solids) were above and other physicochemical indices of groundwater were below the threshold limits of the WHO. Positive correlations of pH and electrical conductivity were observed with cations and anions. The significant positive correlation between sodium and bicarbonate (0.427) indicated the dissolution of carbonate rocks. The concentration of heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Mn, Cr, Pb, Fe, Zn, and Ni) ranged from 0.1 to 0.4, 0.02 to 0.09, 0.04 to 0.9, 0.03 to 0.5, 0.01 to 0.91, 0.05 to 1.30, 0.01 to 0.60, and 0.02 to 0.90 mg/L. The highest concentration of Pb (0.21 mg/L) and Cd (0.16 mg/L) were approximately 20 and 50 times higher than the permissible limits of the WHO. Hierarchical cluster analysis classified the twelve physicochemical parameters into four clusters and the eight heavy metals into seven clusters. Principal component analysis extracted eight latent components for physicochemical properties and heavy metals with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 that had positive loads of fluoride, iron, electrical conductivity, sodium, cadmium, and sulfate. Major pollutants in the groundwater were accounted for by PC 1, and the main factors that affected the water quality were Pb, Cr, and Cu. Fe had a modest impact on the water quality in this region. From the findings, it can be concluded that the coastal groundwater of the region has a higher concentration of heavy metals, which makes it unfit for drinking purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Geochemical Behavior of Trace Elements in Inshore Environments)
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23 pages, 19718 KiB  
Article
Distribution of Geochemical Species of P, Fe and Mn in Surface Sediments in the Eutrophic Estuary, Northern Taiwan
by Tien-Hsi Fang and Cheng-Wen Wang
Water 2021, 13(21), 3075; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13213075 - 02 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3352
Abstract
The Danshuei River Estuary (DRE) in northern Taiwan is a seriously eutrophic estuary due to the domestic effluent discharge. Surface sediment samples were collected from the DRE to study the concentrations and spatial distributions of different fractions of phosphorus through the five-step sequential [...] Read more.
The Danshuei River Estuary (DRE) in northern Taiwan is a seriously eutrophic estuary due to the domestic effluent discharge. Surface sediment samples were collected from the DRE to study the concentrations and spatial distributions of different fractions of phosphorus through the five-step sequential extraction method which chemically divides the sedimentary P into five fractions: PSORB, PCDB, PCFA, PDET, and PORG. The Fe and Mn contents in the extracted solution were also determined. The total organic carbon (TOC) and grain size in sediment samples were analyzed as well. The sedimentary total P (TP) concentrations ranged within 537–1310 mg/kg and mostly exceeded 800 mg/kg, suggesting that the DRE sediments were moderately polluted by phosphorus. The PCDB was the dominant fraction of P, averagely contributing 58% of TP, followed by PDET 31%. The contributions of the PSORB and PCFA fractions to the TP were relatively minor. Two fractions, FeCDB and FeORG, of sedimentary Fe equally shared approximately 70% of total Fe, followed by FeDET with 22%. The contribution of different fractions of sedimentary Mn followed the sequence: MnCDB (36%) > MnCFA (29%) > MnORG (14.7%) > MnDET (14.5%) > MnSORB (5.3%). The sedimentary P, Fe, and Mn within the DRE are easily mobilized because they were mainly present in the reducible fraction. The concentrations of sedimentary TP positively correlated with the TOC contents and inversely negatively correlated with grain size, suggesting that the TOC and grain size play the crucial roles in influencing the distribution of sedimentary P within the DRE. Finally, the Fe(III) (hydro)oxides seems to play an important carriers to adsorb dissolved P because PCDB positively correlated with FeCDB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Geochemical Behavior of Trace Elements in Inshore Environments)
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20 pages, 2432 KiB  
Article
Different Mercury Species Partitioning and Distribution in the Water and Sediment of a Eutrophic Estuary in Northern Taiwan
by Tien-Hsi Fang and Chia-Yu Lien
Water 2021, 13(18), 2471; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13182471 - 08 Sep 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2309
Abstract
The total Hg and methyl Hg in waters and sediments, as well as particulate total Hg (PTHg), were analyzed to study their distribution and partitioning in the Danshuei River Estuary (DRE), northern Taiwan. TOC and grain size were also determined in the sediment [...] Read more.
The total Hg and methyl Hg in waters and sediments, as well as particulate total Hg (PTHg), were analyzed to study their distribution and partitioning in the Danshuei River Estuary (DRE), northern Taiwan. TOC and grain size were also determined in the sediment samples. The dissolved total Hg (DTHg) in waters ranged from 24.0 to 45.8 ng/L. The dissolved methyl Hg (DMeHg) concentrations contributed 0.6–30.4% of the DTHg pool, with the higher percentage appearing in the upper estuary. The DMeHg concentration positively correlated with the Chl.a within the estuary, suggesting that phytoplankton plays an important role in influencing the DMeHg concentration. The partitioning results indicated that DTHg chiefly dominates the THg (DTH + PTHg) pool, especially at a salinity of >15 psu region. The value of partition coefficient, log(KD), was within a range of 3.54 to 4.68, and the value linearly decreased with increasing salinity. The sediment total Hg (STHg) concentrations ranged from 80 to 379 ng/g, and most data exceeded the NOAA guidelines value (ERL < 150 ng/g), indicating that the DRE is contaminated with Hg. The STHg concentrations inversely and positively correlated with the grain size and TOC content, respectively, suggesting that sediment Hg distributions are strongly influenced by the both parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Geochemical Behavior of Trace Elements in Inshore Environments)
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