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Special Session 4: Biogeochemical cycling of trace elements in the ocean: GEOTRACES and beyond |
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Lead isotope exchange between dissolved and fluvial particulate matter: a laboratory study from the Johor River estuary
Monday 9th @ 1155-1215
Room 4
Mengli Chen* , Earth Observatory of Singapore
Edward A. Boyle, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jong-Mi Lee, Department of Marine Science, University of California, Santa Cruz
Intan Nurhati, Singapore-MIT Alliance on Research and Technology, Center of Environmental Sensing and Modeling
Cheryl Zurbrick, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Adam D. Switzer, Earth Observatory of Singapore
Gonzalo Carrasco, Singapore-MIT Alliance on Research and Technology, Center of Environmental Sensing and Modeling
Presenter Email: mlchen@ntu.edu.sg
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| Atmospheric aerosols are the dominant source of Pb to the modern marine environment, and as a result, in most regions of the ocean the Pb isotopic composition of dissolved Pb in the surface ocean (and in corals) matches that of the regional aerosols. In the Singapore Strait, however, there is a large offset between seawater dissolved and coral Pb isotopes and that of the regional aerosols. We propose that this difference results from isotope exchange between dissolved Pb supplied by anthropogenic aerosol deposition and adsorbed natural crustal Pb on weathered particles delivered to the ocean by coastal rivers. To investigate this issue, Pb isotope exchange was assessed through a closed-system exchange experiment using estuarine waters collected at the Johor River mouth (which discharges to the Singapore Strait). During the experiment, a known amount of dissolved Pb with the isotopic composition of NBS-981 (206Pb/207Pb=1.093) was spiked into the unfiltered Johor water (dissolved and particulate 206Pb/207Pb=1.199) and the changing isotopic composition of the dissolved Pb was monitored. The mixing ratio of the estuarine and spike Pb should have produced a dissolved 206Pb/207Pb isotopic composition of 1.161, but within a week, the 206Pb/207Pb in the water increased to 1.190 and continued to increase to 1.197 during the next two months without significant changes of the dissolved Pb concentration. Both the closed-system experiment and field measurements imply that isotope exchange can be an important mechanism for controlling Pb and Pb isotopes in coastal waters. A similar process may occur for other trace elements. |
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