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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(8)

Sulfidic materials in dryland river wetlands

S. Lamontagne A C D , W. S. Hicks B C , R. W. Fitzpatrick A C and S. Rogers A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Land and Water, Private Mail Bag No. 2, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.

B CSIRO Land and Water, GPO Box 1666 Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

C CRC LEME, CSIRO Exploration and Mining, PO Box 1130, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: sebastien.lamontagne@csiro.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(8) 775-788 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06057
Submitted: 11 April 2006  Accepted: 10 October 2006   Published: 28 November 2006

Abstract

Due to a combination of river regulation, dryland salinity and irrigation return, lower River Murray floodplains (Australia) and associated wetlands are undergoing salinisation. It was hypothesised that salinisation would provide suitable conditions for the accumulation of sulfidic materials (soils and sediments enriched in sulfides, such as pyrite) in these wetlands. A survey of nine floodplain wetlands representing a salinity gradient from fresh to hypersaline determined that surface sediment sulfide concentrations varied from <0.05% to ~1%. Saline and permanently flooded wetlands tended to have greater sulfide concentrations than freshwater ones or those with more regular wetting–drying regimes. The acidification risk associated with the sulfidic materials was evaluated using field peroxide oxidations tests and laboratory measurements of net acid generation potential. Although sulfide concentration was elevated in many wetlands, the acidification risk was low because of elevated carbonate concentration (up to 30% as CaCO3) in the sediments. One exception was Bottle Bend Lagoon (New South Wales), which had acidified during a draw-down event in 2002 and was found to have both actual and potential acid sulfate soils at the time of the survey (2003). Potential acid sulfate soils also occurred locally in the hypersaline Loveday Disposal Basin. The other environmental risks associated with sulfidic materials could not be reliably evaluated because no guideline exists to assess them. These include the deoxygenation risk following sediment resuspension and the generation of foul odours during drying events. The remediation of wetland salinity in the Murray–Darling Basin will require that the risks associated with disturbing sulfidic materials during management actions be evaluated.

Additional keywords: ASS, monosulfide, Murray–Darling Basin, pyrite, sulfide.


Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge CRC LEME for funding this research. We would also like to thank the CSIRO Land and Water Adelaide Analytical Services Unit who did most of the soil analyses and Mark Raven (CSIRO) for the X-ray diffraction. Darren Baldwin, Leigh Sullivan and two anonymous reviewers provided many useful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.


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