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Trace elements in suspended particulate matter from the Yarra River, Australia

  • Conference paper
Sediment/Water Interactions

Part of the book series: Developments in Hydrobiology ((DIHY,volume 50))

Abstract

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) was collected from two sites in the Yarra River, Australia under a range of flow conditions using a continuous flow centrifuge. The SPM from the upstream, largely rural, site at Warrandyte had higher concentrations of organic matter, phosphorus and manganese. SPM collected from the downstream, largely urban, site at Heidelberg had elevated concentrations of lead and zinc. The concentrations of iron, copper and chromium in the SPM changed little between the two sites.

Over the study period, the flow-weighted mean concentration of SPM increased 5-fold between the two sites and the load increased 7-fold. The annual load of SPM transported past Heidelberg was estimated to be 170000 tonne, with approximately 80% occurring during high flows (>15m3 s−1). Detailed study of the SPM concentrations during flood events suggests that the northern tributaries to the Yarra are the main contributors of SPM in the region between Warrandyte and Heidelberg.

The mean annual load of total phosphorus transported by the Yarra River at Heidelberg was estimated to be 220 tonne, approximately 2.5 times greater than at Warrandyte. Approximately 60% of this load was associated with SPM. The majority (ca. 80%) of this SPM-bound phosphorus was extractable with 0.1 M NaOH, and is therefore potentially biologically available.

There was little difference between the two sites in the flow-weighted mean concentrations of iron, copper and chromium in SPM. The manganese concentration was approximately halved between Warrandyte and Heidelberg, with most of the loss occurring in the exchangeable and reducible fractions. Lead and zinc concentrations in SPM increased 15 to 16-fold between the two sites, with most of this increase occurring in the exchangeable and reducible fractions. This is some cause for concern, since metals in both these fractions could become available to biota under conditions known to exist in the Yarra estuary.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Studies Centre, Chisholm Institute of Technology, Caulfield East, 3145, Australia

    P. Sinclair, R. Beckett & B. T. Hart

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  1. P. Sinclair
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  2. R. Beckett
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rawson Academy of Aquatic Science, 404 - 1 Nicholas Street, K1N 7B7, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Peter G. Sly

  2. Stream Ecology Centre, Chisholm Institute of Technology, 3145, Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia

    Barry T. Hart

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© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Sinclair, P., Beckett, R., Hart, B.T. (1989). Trace elements in suspended particulate matter from the Yarra River, Australia. In: Sly, P.G., Hart, B.T. (eds) Sediment/Water Interactions. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 50. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2376-8_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2376-8_22

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-9007-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2376-8

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