6533b83afe1ef96bd12a7160

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Distribution of rare earth elements in marine sediments from the Strait of Sicily (western Mediterranean Sea): Evidence of phosphogypsum waste contamination

Rodolfo NeriPaolo CensiElvira OliveriS. MazzolaAdriana BellancaGiorgio TranchidaM. D’eliaMario SprovieriFrancesco PlacentiMassimo Angelone

subject

Phosphogypsum contaminationGeologic SedimentsPhosphogypsumFractionationAquatic ScienceOceanographyCalcium SulfateMarine sedimentschemistry.chemical_compoundMediterranean seaMediterranean SeaSeawaterTransectRare earth elementsRare earth elements Marine sediments Phosphogypsum contamination Strait of SicilyPhosphorusPollutionlanguage.human_languageSettore GEO/08 - Geochimica E VulcanologiaStrait of SicilyOceanographychemistrylanguageBox corerCarbonateMetals Rare EarthClay mineralsSicilianWater Pollutants ChemicalGeologyEnvironmental Monitoring

description

Concentrations of rare earth elements (REE), Y, Th and Sc were recently determined in marine sediments collected using a box corer along two onshore–offshore transects located in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea). The REE + Y were enriched in offshore fine-grained sediments where clay minerals are abundant, whereas the REE + Y contents were lower in onshore coarse-grained sediments with high carbonate fractions. Considering this distribution trend, the onshore sediments in front of the southwestern Sicilian coast represent an anomaly with high REE + Y concentrations (mean value 163.4 lg g 1) associated to high Th concentrations (mean value 7.9 lg g 1). Plot of shale-normalized REE + Y data of these coastal sediments showed Middle REE enrichments relative to Light REE and Heavy REE, manifested by a convexity around Sm–Gd–Eu elements. These anomalies in the fractionation patterns of the coastal sediments were attributed to phosphogypsum-contaminated effluents from an industrial plant, located in the southern Sicilian coast.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2010-07-21Marine Pollution Bulletin
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.11.003