Laboratorio de Sedimentología y Paleoambientes, Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Facultad de Recursos del Mar, Universidad de Antofagasta, Casilla 170, Antofagasta, Chile.
Environ Monit Assess. 2010 Aug;167(1-4):185-97. doi: 10.1007/s10661-009-1041-3. Epub 2009 Jun 18.
Cu, Pb, and Hg concentrations were determined in surface sediment samples collected at three sites in San Jorge Bay, northern Chile. This study aims to evaluate differences in their spatial distribution and temporal variability. The highest metal concentrations were found at the site "Puerto", where minerals (Cu and Pb) have been loaded for more than 60 years. On the other hand, Hg does not pose a contamination problem in this bay. Cu and Pb concentrations showed significant variations from 1 year to another. These variations seem to be a consequence of the combination of several factors, including changes in the loading and/or storage of minerals in San Jorge Bay, the dredging of bottom sediments (especially at Puerto), and seasonal changes in physical-chemical properties of the water column that modify the exchange of metals at the sediment-water interface. Differences in the contamination factor and geoaccumulation index suggest that pre-industrial concentrations measured in marine sediments of this geographical zone, were better than geological values (average shale, continental crust average) for evaluating the degree of contamination in this coastal system. Based on these last two indexes, San Jorge Bay has a serious problem of Cu and Pb pollution at the three sampling locations. However, only Cu exceeds the national maximum values used to evaluate ecological risk and the health of marine environments. It is suggested that Chilean environmental legislation for marine sediment quality--presently under technical discussion--is not an efficient tool for protecting the marine ecosystem.
在智利北部圣豪尔赫湾的三个地点采集了表层沉积物样本，测定了其中的铜、铅和汞浓度。本研究旨在评估其空间分布和时间变化的差异。在“Puerto”站点发现了最高的金属浓度，该站点已经有超过 60 年的矿物（铜和铅）负荷。另一方面，汞在这个海湾没有造成污染问题。Cu 和 Pb 的浓度在一年到另一年之间表现出显著的变化。这些变化似乎是多种因素综合作用的结果，包括圣豪尔赫湾中矿物的加载和/或存储变化、底泥疏浚（尤其是在 Puerto）以及水柱状物理化学性质的季节性变化，这些变化改变了金属在沉积物-水界面的交换。污染因子和地质累积指数的差异表明，在该地理区域的海洋沉积物中测量的前工业化浓度，在评估该沿海系统的污染程度方面优于地质值（平均页岩、大陆地壳平均值）。基于后两个指数，在三个采样地点，圣豪尔赫湾的 Cu 和 Pb 污染问题严重。然而，只有 Cu 超过了用于评估海洋环境生态风险和健康的国家最大允许值。因此，建议智利现行的海洋沉积物质量环境法规（目前正在进行技术讨论）不是保护海洋生态系统的有效工具。
