Anomalously high concentrations of arsenic and phosphate are found in the sediments of the Saguenay Fjord in comparison to those of the Gulf and St. Lawrence Estuary. The source of arsenic is unclear. It could be supplied to the Fjord by the marine waters which enter from the St. Lawrence Estuary or may have accumulated as a result of historically high levels of effluent input. / The waters of the Saguenay Fjord are also characterized by anomalously high particulate aluminum concentrations (i.e., [Al]tot/[Al] diss > 1), introduced as a result of the aluminum refining activity along the shores of its tributaries. Gibbsite (Al(OH)3), a by-product of this activity, is known to strongly adsorb phosphate and arsenate from low ionic strength aqueous solutions, and may act as a vector for these two elements to sediments of the Saguenay Fjord. / The small amount of arsenate and phosphate adsorbed onto gibbsite from seawater indicates that their adsorption to particulate aluminum in the water column cannot account for the elevated levels of arsenic and phosphate in the sediments of the Saguenay Fjord. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.21552 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Fitzpatrick, Alexander John. |
| Contributors | Mucci, A. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001654553, proquestno: MQ50768, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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