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Spatial variability and sources of platinum in a contaminated harbor – tracing coastal urban inputs

Authors :
Mary-Lou Tercier-Waeber
Melina Abdou
Gérard Blanc
Paolo Povero
Michela Castellano
Emanuele Magi
Charlotte Catrouillet
F. Massa
Jörg Schäfer
Teba Gil-Díaz
Source :
Environmental Chemistry, Vol. 17, No 2 (2020) P. 105
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
CSIRO Publishing, 2020.

Abstract

Environmental contextEmerging contaminants such as platinum are continuously released into aquatic environments. Analytical challenges, however, have restricted information on their geochemical cycles. We examine the potential use of platinum as a tracer of anthropogenic inputs in a model industrial/urban site (Genoa Harbor, Italy), and provide a first estimate of dissolved platinum baseline concentrations in the northern Mediterranean coast. AbstractBiogeochemical cycles that include processes to control platinum (Pt) distribution remain widely unknown in aquatic environments, especially in coastal systems. Dissolved Pt concentrations in coastal seawater (PtD) and in suspended particulate matter (SPM, PtP) were measured, together with master variables comprising dissolved oxygen, dissolved and particulate organic carbon, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and ammonium levels, along two longitudinal profiles in the industrial Genoa Harbor (north-west Italy). Concentrations and spatial distribution of PtD and PtP levels reflect distinct concentration gradients that were attributed to different Pt sources such as hospital, domestic and industrial wastewater, atmospheric deposition, and/or road runoff. Concentrations reaching up to 0.18ngL−1 PtD and 14ngg−1 PtP reflect the impact of Pt urban inputs to coastal sites. These first data highlight considerable anthropogenic contamination in a confined harbor compared with the proposed reference value for the western Mediterranean surface seawater measured at external sites. Identified correlations between Pt levels and human pollution signals suggest the potential use of Pt as a new tracer of anthropogenic inputs that can be applied to other urbanised coastal systems. Biogeochemical processes that induce changes in the partitioning and fate of Pt in coastal seawater reflect a spatial variability and highlight the need for comprehensive environmental monitoring at an appropriate spatial scale.

Details

ISSN :
14482517
Volume :
17
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Environmental Chemistry
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....2fcc0e5b09fbca2ac3cf59680c4c53ba
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1071/en19160