Magela Creek system, Northern Australia. II. Material budget for the floodplain

1987 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 861 ◽  
Author(s):  
BT Hart ◽  
EM Ottaway ◽  
BN Noller
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Trace Metals ◽  
Major Ions ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Sodium Potassium ◽  
Weathering Processes ◽  
Lead Zinc ◽  
Copper Lead

A materials budget was estimated for the Magela Creek system during the 1982-83 wet season. This tropical system in northern Australia consists largely of a well-defined creek (Magela Creek contributes approximately 50% of the total inflow to the floodplain) flowing into an extensive wetlands area and then into the East Alligator River. Intensive sampling of creek water, rainfall and water flowing from the system provided the data base for the budget calculations. The annual transport of both dissolved and particulate matter by Magela Creek (area 600 km2) is very low, even when compared with other low-relief tropical systems. The annual load transported during 1982-83 was 1260 t (21 kg ha-1) of dissolved salts and 2330 t (39 kg ha-1) of particulate matter. Rainfall appeared to contribute all the sodium, potassium and chloride, and part of the calcium (c. 30%) and magnesium (25%) transported during the 1982-83 wet season by Magela Creek. Most of the manganese (c. 60%) (and probably iron) was contributed from weathering processes occurring in the catchment. Only small amounts of the trace metals copper, lead, zinc and uranium were transported by the creek. During the 1982-83 wet season, more trace metals were contributed in rainfall than transported from the catchment by the creek. However, this is probably atypical and resulted from dust particles that had entered the atmosphere in greater numbers due to the extended dry season. The vast bulk of the nutrients (total P 93%, NO3- N 86%, NH4+ N 98%) added to the catchment by rainfall was removed by the catchment, probably via uptake by the vegetation. Consequently, the creek transported only very small amounts of nutrients to the floodplain. An input-output budget for the Magela floodplain was calculated. The uncertainty in the net amounts deposited or released from the floodplain was estimated using a new quantitative method developed for this purpose. The uncertainties in the net values estimated were high, ranging from around 30% for bicarbonate to 500% for uranium. These data suggest that the Magela floodplain is a net source of the major ions (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate and bicarbonate) and also of iron, and a net sink for suspended solids, nutrients (total phosphorus, nitrate and ammonia) and manganese. The floodplain also appears to be a net sink for the trace metals copper, lead, zinc and uranium.

Dissolved trace metals and their relationship to major elements in the Manuherikia River, a pristine subalpine catchment in central Otago, New Zealand

1991 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 409 ◽  
Author(s):  
WW Ahlers ◽  
JP Kim ◽  
KA Hunter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Trace Metals ◽  
Major Element ◽  
Major Ions ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Lower Altitude ◽  
Weathering Processes ◽  
Global Standards ◽  
Dissolved Silicon ◽  
Dissolved Trace Metals

The spatial distributions of the dissolved trace metals Cu, Ni, Cd, Zn and Pb and of reactive Hg have been measured in parallel with the major elements Na, K, Mg and Ca and electrical conductivity in three sampling events in the Manuherikia River, New Zealand. The geographical span of the sampling sites ranged from a pristine subalpine upper catchment area through lower altitude sites that are increasingly affected by both natural weathering processes and moderate agricultural and domestic runoff. Major-element concentrations in the upper catchment were at or below the 1% frequency minimum of the spectrum of global river compositions, indicating a highly pristine system. Concen- trations increased steadily downstream to levels similar to world average river water. All trace metals exhibited the same spatial trends as the major ions. Typical upper-catchment concentrations were very low by global standards: Cu (150 ng L-1), Ni (100-150 ng L-1), Cd (8 ng L-I), Zn (150-200 ng L-1), Pb (20-30 ng L-1) and Hg (0.3 ng L-1). Oceanic residence times calculated from the data for Zn (80 000 years) and Cd (230 000 years) for which few reliable estimates have been made, are consistent with observed correlations between the oceanographic distributions of these elements and dissolved silicon or phosphate, respectively.

Magela Creek system, northern Australia. I. 1982-83 wet-season water quality

1987 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 261 ◽  
Author(s):  
BT Hart ◽  
EM Ottaway ◽  
BN Noller
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Solids ◽  
Major Ions ◽  
Ammonia Nitrogen ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Flood Event ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Acidic Ph ◽  
First Flush ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Wet Season

The particularly late wet season in 1982-83 provided a unique opportunity to study the dry-to-wet season transition in Magela Creek, a tropical creek and wetlands system in northern Australia. The first water to flow down and across the floodplain was characteristically quite acidic (pH c. 4-5), with a high conductivity (c. 750 �S cm-1) and high sulfate concentration (c. 200 mg I-1). The source of the sulfate, acidity and dissolved salts is groundwater brought to the surface (mainly in depressions on the floodplain, e.g. pools and channels) by rising watertables, and then flushed from these by the slowly advancing flood waters. The end of the dry season is a time of particular stress for the biota living in these billabongs, and many fish kills have been noted at around the time this 'first flush' water enters. In most years, this poor-quality water would be rapidly flushed out, in a few days at the most, from the billabongs by subsequent flood- flows down Magela Creek. However, in 1983, the next flood event did not occur until almost 1 month after the first flush had occurred. During the main wet season, the water transported by Magela Creek was slightly acidic (mean pH 5,2), with a very low conductivity (c. 5-17 �S cm-1) and low concentrations of suspended solids (c. 4-59 mg I-1), major ions and trace metals (iron, manganese, copper, lead, zinc, uranium). There was a general decrease in the mean concentration of each determin and with each succeeding flood event. This was most noticeable in the case of suspended solids and conductivity, and was attributed to an 'exhaustion effect' where greater amounts of suspended solids and soluble salts (in the upper soil layers) were available in the early part of the wet season. The composition of the creek water was very similar to that of rainwater falling in the catchment, with two major exceptions. First, the rainwater was considerably more acidic (pH 3.6-4.9), due mainly to the presence of weak organic acids such as formic and acetic acids. This acidic rainwater was partially neutralized by interaction with catchment soils. Second, the concentrations of all nutrients (total phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen and ammonia-nitrogen) were considerably higher in the rainwater. There was a significant removal (over 90%) of phosphorus, ammonia and nitrate from the rainwater, probably due to uptake by the ground vegetation known to proliferate in the catchment during the wet season. Factor analysis indicated that dilution of the base flow, presumably by surface runoff of rainwater, was the dominant component during both the rising and falling stages of each flood event. Radionuclide activity in composite water samples taken over the five flood events revealed that the total activity of both 226Ra and 210Pb was low, with greater than 58% of both radionuclides being in filterable forms.

Determination of Iron in Suspended Matter and Sediments of the Yarra River Estuary, and the Distribution of Copper, Lead, Zinc and Manganese in the Sediments

1979 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 731 ◽  
Author(s):  
JD Smith ◽  
PJ Milne
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Acetic Acid Solution ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Hydroxylamine Hydrochloride ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Lead Zinc ◽  
Copper Lead ◽  
Yarra River

Sediments from the Yarra River estuary were analysed for Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn, Fe and Ca extractable in hydroxylamine hydrochloride-acetic acid solution. Strong correlation of Pb and Zn with extractable Fe was observed. The behaviour of Cu indicated that it was not only controlled by the hydrated iron oxides, but that some may be organically bound. The effects of salinity on the suspended particulate matter were examined, and variations in the amount of extractable Fe in the particulate matter observed.

Geochemical processes in the Onyx River, Wright Valley, Antarctica: Major ions, nutrients, trace metals

2005 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 839-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Green ◽  
Brian R. Stage ◽  
Adam Preston ◽  
Shannon Wagers ◽  
Joseph Shacat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metals ◽  
Major Ions ◽  
Geochemical Processes

The Influence of Oceanic Air Masses on Concentration of Major Ions and Trace Metals in PM2.5 Fraction at a Coastal European Suburban Site

2014 ◽  
Vol 226 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Moreda-Piñeiro ◽  
Isabel Turnes-Carou ◽  
Elia Alonso-Rodríguez ◽  
Carmen Moscoso-Pérez ◽  
Gustavo Blanco-Heras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metals ◽  
Major Ions ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Suburban Site

Trace metals speciation in coastal particulate matter for marine environmental studies in Antarctica

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 1287 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Magi ◽  
C. Ianni ◽  
F. Soggia ◽  
M. Grotti ◽  
R. Frache
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Trace Metals ◽  
Environmental Studies ◽  
Marine Environmental
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