Enrichment of trace metals from acid sulfate soils in sediments of the Kvarken Archipelago, eastern Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea

Virtasalo, Joonas J.; Österholm, Peter; Kotilainen, Aarno T.; Åström, Mats E.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6097-2020

Articles | Volume 17, issue 23

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6097-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6097-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 17, issue 23

Research article

|

07 Dec 2020

Research article |

| 07 Dec 2020

Enrichment of trace metals from acid sulfate soils in sediments of the Kvarken Archipelago, eastern Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea

Joonas J. Virtasalo, Peter Österholm, Aarno T. Kotilainen, and Mats E. Åström

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6097-2020-supplement

Data sets

Multielement data of sediment samples from the Kvarken Archipelago, eastern Gulf of Bothnia, impacted by metal loading from acid sulphate soils J. J. Virtasalo, P. Österholm, A. T. Kotilainen, and M. E. Åström https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.920857

Grain size data of sediment samples from the Kvarken Archipelago, eastern Gulf of Bothnia, impacted by metal loading from acid sulphate soils J. J. Virtasalo, P. Österholm, A. T. Kotilainen, and M. E. Åström https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.920850

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Short summary

Rivers draining the acid sulphate soils of western Finland deliver large amounts of metals (e.g. Cd, Co, Cu, La, Mn, Ni, and Zn) to the coastal sea. To better understand metal enrichment in the sea floor, we analysed metal contents and grain size distribution in nine sediment cores, which increased in the 1960s and 1970s and stayed at high levels afterwards. The enrichment is visible more than 25 km out from the river mouths. Organic aggregates are suggested as the key seaward metal carriers.