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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(7)

Aquatic geochemistry of the rare earth elements and yttrium in the Pioneer River catchment, Australia

Michael G. Lawrence A D , Stacy D. Jupiter B and Balz S. Kamber C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis Radiogenic Isotope Facility, Richards Building, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.

B Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California – Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.

C Department of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, 933 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury, ON P3E 6B5, Canada.

D Corresponding author. Email: m.lawrence@uq.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(7) 725-736 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF05229
Submitted: 22 November 2005  Accepted: 6 September 2006   Published: 13 October 2006

Abstract

The rare earth elements are strong provenance indicators in geological materials, yet the potential for tracing provinciality in surface freshwater samples has not been adequately tested. Rare earth element and yttrium concentrations were measured at 33 locations in the Pioneer River catchment, Mackay, central Queensland, Australia. The rare earth element patterns were compared on the basis of geological, topographical and land-use features in order to investigate the provenancing potential of these elements in a small freshwater system. The rare earth element patterns of streams draining single lithological units with minor land modification show strongly coherent normalised behaviour, with a loss of coherence in agricultural locations. Evidence is reported for an anthropogenic Gd anomaly that may provide a useful hydrological tracer in this region since the introduction of magnetic resonance imaging in 2003. Several samples display a superchondritic Y/Ho mass ratio (up to 44), which is not explainable within the constraints imposed by local geology. Instead, it is suggested that the additional Y is derived from a marine source, specifically marine phosphorites, which are a typical source of fertiliser phosphorus. The data indicate that, under some circumstances, scaled and normalised freshwater rare earth patterns behave conservatively.

Extra keywords: fertiliser, gadolinium anomaly, land use, lanthanides.


Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Bronwyn Masters DNRM, Mackay, and Maureen Cooper of Padaminka Nature Reserve, Walkerston, for assistance with this project. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers whose insightful comments improved the manuscript.


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