Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF09046
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(2)

Spatial variability of cadmium, copper, manganese, nickel and zinc in the Port Curtis Estuary, Queensland, Australia

Brad M. Angel A B D , Leigh T. Hales A , Stuart L. Simpson A , Simon C. Apte A , Anthony A. Chariton A , Damon A. Shearer C and Dianne F. Jolley B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research, CSIRO Land and Water, Private Mailbag 7, Bangor, NSW 2234, Australia.

B GeoQuest, Department of Chemistry, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

C CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, Centre for Environmental Management, Central Queensland University, Gladstone, Qld 4680, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: brad.angel@csiro.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(2) 170-183 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09046
Submitted: 6 March 2009  Accepted: 27 July 2009   Published: 25 February 2010

Abstract

Port Curtis is a rapidly growing industrialised and urbanised harbour in Central Queensland, Australia. The spatial variability of trace metals in waters and suspended particulates was determined along axial transects within the harbour and in oceanic waters adjacent to Port Curtis. Dissolved metal concentrations were significantly elevated in Port Curtis compared with the concentrations measured in the adjacent coastal waters. Dissolved copper and zinc concentrations ranged from <19 to 800 and <31 to 580 ng L–1, respectively, and maxima were observed in inner harbour waters adjacent to the southern entrance to the Narrows and in close proximity to anthropogenic sources. Dissolved nickel concentrations were measured in the range of 110 to 900 ng L–1, and exhibited a maximum concentration in the central to northern Narrows, in an area that was not adjacent to anthropogenic sources. Dissolved manganese concentration maxima were measured in close proximity to the dissolved nickel maxima. It appears likely that the elevated dissolved metal concentrations in Port Curtis and the Narrows were not caused by a single point source, and are the result of several factors, including industrial activity around the foreshore, fluxes from sediment-porewater, low flushing durations, lower water pH and possibly episodic inputs from adjacent rivers.

Additional keywords: baseline study, spatial trends.


Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the University of Wollongong, CSIRO and the Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone Estuary and Waterway Management. Leonie Anderson and Andrew Davis (Central Queensland University) are thanked for logistical support and coordination of field work, and David Spadaro (CSIRO) for assistance in the laboratory


References

Ahlers, W. W. , Reid, M. R. , Kim, J. P. , and Hunter, K. A. (1990). Contamination-free sample collection and handling protocols for trace elements in natural waters. Marine and Freshwater Research 41, 713–720.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Andersen L. E., and Norton J. H. (2001). Port Curtis mud crab shell disease. Final report. Central Qld University, Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.

ANZECC/ARMCANZ (2000). ‘Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality.’ (Australia and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council/Agricultural and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand: Canberra, Australia.)

Apte, S. C. , and Day, G. M. (1998). Dissolved metal concentrations in the Torres Strait and Gulf of Papua. Marine Pollution Bulletin 36, 298–304.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Apte S., Anderson L., Andrewartha J., Angel B., Shearer D., Simpson S., Stauber J., and Vicente-Beckett V. (2006). Contaminant pathways in Port Curtis. Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management. Technical Report No. 75. CRC Coastal Zone Estuary and Waterway Management, Indooroopilly, Qld.

Apte, S. C. , Batley, G. E. , Szymczak, R. , Rendell, P. S. , Lee, R. , and Waite, T. D. (1998). Baseline trace metal concentrations in New South Wales coastal waters. Marine and Freshwater Research 49, 203–214.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2008). National Pollution Inventory. Tracking emissions across Australia. Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Available at http://www.npi.gov.au [accessed 22 March 2008].

Baeyens, W. , Leermakers, M. , De Gieter, M. , Nguyen, H. L. , Parmentier, K. , Panutrakul, S. , and Elskens, M. (2005). Overview of trace metal contamination in the Scheldt estuary and effect of regulatory measures. Hydrobiologia 540, 141–154.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Fabris G. L., and Monahan C. A. (1995). Characterisation of toxicants in waters from Port Phillip Bay: metals. CSIRO INRE Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study Technical Report No. 18, Melbourne.

Ford, P. , Tillman, P. , Robson, B. , and Webster, I. T. (2005). Organic carbon deliveries and their flow related dynamics in the Fitzroy estuary. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51, 119–127.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Grasshoff K., Ehrhardt M., and Kremling K. (1983). ‘Methods of Seawater Analysis. 2nd edn.’ (Verlag Chemie: Weinheim.)

Hall, I. R. , Hydes, D. J. , Statham, P. J. , and Overnell, J. (1996). Dissolved and particulate trace metals in a Scottish sea loch: an example of a pristine environment. Marine Pollution Bulletin 32, 846–854.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Herzfeld M., Parslow J., Andrewartha J., Sakov P., and Webster I. T. (2004). Hydrodynamic modeling of the Port Curtis region. CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, Technical Report No. 7, Brisbane.

Jickells, T. (1995). Atmospheric inputs of metals and nutrients to the oceans: their magnitude and effects. Marine Chemistry 48, 199–214.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Jones M., Duivenvoorden L., Choy S., and Moss A. (2000). National land and water resources report 3, theme 7 – catchment health, Fitzroy implementation project. Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane.

Kremling, K. , and Pohl, C. (1989). Studies on the spatial and seasonal variability of dissolved cadmium, copper, and nickel in north-east Atlantic surface waters. Marine Chemistry 27, 43–60.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Moss A., and Costanzo S. (1998). Levels of heavy metals in sediments of Queensland rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters, Environmental Technical Report No. 20. Queensland Environment Protection Authority, Brisbane.

Munksgaard, N. C. , and Parry, D. L. (2001). Trace metals, arsenic and lead isotopes in dissolved and particulate phases of North Australian coastal and estuarine seawater. Marine Chemistry 75, 165–184.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Rolfe J., Alam K., and Windle J. (2004). Overview of the Fitzroy basin and opportunities for offset trading: Establishing the potential for offset trading in the lower Fitzroy Rivers, research report. Central Queensland University, Emerald.

Ross D. J. (2002). Acid Sulfate Soils, Tannum Sands to St. Lawrence, Central Queensland Coast. Department of National Resources and Mines, Rockhampton.

Saenger P. (1995). ‘Ecology of Mangroves of Port Curtis: Regional Biogeography, Productivity and Demography. Mangroves – A Resource Under Threat: An Issue for the Central Queensland Coast.’ (Central Queensland University: Gladstone.)

Sañudo-Wilhelmy, S. A. , Rivera-Duarte, I. , and Flegal, A. R. (1996). Distribution of colloidal trace metals in the San Francisco Bay estuary. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 60, 4933–4944.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Vincente-Beckett V., and Shearer D. (2005). Contaminant sources in benthic sediments of Port Curtis. Milestone report IC10.1. CRC for Coastal Zone Estuary and Waterway Management, Brisbane.

USEPA (1996). Sampling ambient water for trace metals at EPA water quality criteria levels. Method 1669. US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Engineering and Analysis Division, Washington, DC.

Warnken, J. , Dunn, R. J. K. , and Teasdale, P. R. (2004). Investigation of recreational boats as a source of copper at anchorage sites using time-integrated diffusive gradients in thin films and sediment measurements. Marine Pollution Bulletin 49, 833–843.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | WBM Oceanics (1992). Water Quality Investigations. Interim Report. Stage II. in Gladstone Industrial Land Study Consortium. Gladstone Industrial Land Project studies. Stage 2 of 4. Data analysis report working papers Vol. 2 of 3. Report for Gladstone Industrial Land Use Consortium. WBM Oceanics Australia, Brisbane.

Williams, M. R. , Millward, G. E. , Nimmo, M. , and Fones, G. (1998). Fluxes of Cu, Pb and Mn to the North-Eastern Irish Sea: the importance of sedimental and atmospheric inputs. Marine Pollution Bulletin 36, 366–375.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |

Wolanski, E. (1986). An evaporation-driven salinity maximum zone in Australian tropical estuaries. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 22, 415–424.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |

Zhang, H. , Davison, W. , Mortimer, R. J. G. , Krom, M. D. , Hayes, P. J. , and Davies, I. M. (2002). Localised remobilization of metals in a marine sediment. The Science of the Total Environment 296, 175–187.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |