RT Journal Article
T1 Sediments as Sentinels of Pollution Episodes in the Middle Estuary of the Tinto River (SW Spain)
A1 Cáceres Puro, Luis Miguel
A1 Ruiz Muñoz, Francisco
A1 Bermejo Meléndez, Javier
A1 Fernández Sutilo, Lucía
A1 González-Regalado Montero, María Luz
A1 Rodríguez Vidal, Joaquín
A1 Abad de los Santos, Manuel
A1 Izquierdo, Tatiana
A1 Toscano Grande, Antonio
A1 Gómez Gutiérrez, Paula
A1 Romero Aguilar, Verónica
AB Estuaries are excellent environments for identifying pollution episodes that have affectedriver basins, as their sediments are the final destination of some of the pollutants. This paperstudies the geochemical evolution of five elements (As, Co, Cu, Pb, Zn) in a core extracted fromthe middle estuary of the Tinto River (SW Spain). The results are based on facies interpretation,ICP atomic emission spectrometry analysis, the application of a regional background to obtain thegeoaccumulation index and dating. The main objective of this communication is the detection ofnatural or anthropogenic pollution episodes in the middle estuary of the Tinto River (SW Spain).Four pollution episodes have been detected: (1) ~5.8 cal. kyr BP, probably caused by natural acidrock drainage processes derived from the oxidation of the Iberian Pyritic Belt deposits found inits drainage basin; (2) 4.7–4.5 kyr BP, coming from the first mining activities and characterized bya significant increase in the concentrations of the five elements analyzed; (3) 1850–1960 interval,coinciding with intensive mining and characterized by increasing values of As and, to a lesser extent,Pb (intensive mining); and (4) the second half of the 20th century, with high element concentrationsfrom mining and industrial effluents. All episodes show an increase in their geochemical classesdeduced from the geoaccumulation index. This communication can serve as an example for assessingthe impact of different types of pollution in estuarine environments.
PB MDPI
SN 2571-8789 (electrónico)
YR 2023
FD 2023-10-24
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22702
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22702
LA eng
NO Cáceres, L. M., Ruiz, F., Bermejo, J., Fernández, L., González-Regalado, M. L., Vidal, J. R., Abad, M., Izquierdo, T., Toscano, A., Gómez, P., & Romero, V. (2023). Sediments as Sentinels of Pollution Episodes in the Middle Estuary of the Tinto River (SW Spain). In Soil Systems (Vol. 7, Issue 4, p. 95). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems7040095
NO This study was mainly financed by the Palos de la Frontera Council. It was also carriedout through the following projects: (a) DGYCIT project CTM2006-06722/MAR; (b) DGYCIT projectCGL2006-01412; (c) Roman cities of the Baetica, CORPVS VRBIVM BAETICARVM (I) (CUB) (AndalusianGovernment); (d) From the Atlantic to the Tyrrhenian, the Hispanic ports and their commercialrelations with Ostia Antica, DEATLANTIR II—HAR2017-89154-P (Plan Nacional de I + D + i); and(e) FEDER 2014–2020 project UHU-1260298. Other funds have come from the Andalusian Government(groups HUM-132, RNM-238, and RNM-293). It is a contribution to the Research Center inHistorical, Cultural and Natural Heritage (CIPHCN) of the University of Huelva.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 14 jul 2026