Baseline
Sediment-bound trace metals in Golfe-Juan Bay, northwestern Mediterranean: Distribution, availability and toxicity

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.065Get rights and content

Highlights

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    Sediment-bound trace metals are higher those accumulated by transplanted mussels.

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    Potentially mobile toxic sediment-bound trace metals pose risk to Golfe-Juan waters.

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    Pb and Ni in Golfe-Juan Bay sediment exceed regulatory limits for marine sediment.

Abstract

The concentration, potential mobility, cation exchange capacity and toxicity of eight sediment-bound metals in Golfe-Juan Bay, France were examined. Results revealed significant spatial gradient of metal contamination along Golfe-Juan coast. The distribution and concentration of the metals appear to be influenced by the geochemical properties of the sediment, proximity to anthropogenic sources and general water circulation in the bay. The portion of trace metals found in the exchangeable, carbonate, oxidizable and reducible fractions of the sediment constitute 31%–58% of the total sediment-bound trace metal content, suggesting significant potential for remobilization of metals into the water column. Pb and Ni content of the sediment exceed the limits of the French marine sediment quality. Whole sediment extracts showed acute toxicity to marine rotifers. This study concludes that monitoring and management of sediment-bound trace metals in Golfe-Juan Bay are important so as not to underestimate their availability and risk to the marine ecosystems.

Section snippets

Acknowledgements

This study was carried out in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Ph.D. thesis of the corresponding author, through the support of the Erasmus Mundus Mobility with Asia (EMMA) Programme and the Sabella Project of ECOMERS (funding from Agence de l'Eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse). The authors wish to thank IFREMER and the Environment Laboratory of the City of Nice, France. The field work and laboratory analyses were also made possible through the assistance of Pascaline Bodilis,

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