Publication Date
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Committee Members
William Fitzgerald (Committee Member), Chad Hammerschmidt (Advisor), Chad Hammerschmidt (Committee Chair), Carl Lamborg (Committee Member)
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Abstract
Trace metals in the ocean are derived from natural and anthropogenic sources. Despite increased human impact on the marine environment and biological productivity of continental margins, trace metal studies in marine sediments have focused primarily on near-shore regions. I investigated 22 metals in sediments on the continental margin of the northwest Atlantic Ocean to calculate enrichment factors (EF) relative to upper continental crust and identify spatial variations with distance from shore and depth below the sediment-seawater interface. Metals were well correlated with Al, Fe, organic matter, or CaCO3. No clear trends in metal EFs with distance from shore were evident on a station by station basis, but consistent differences among regions of the continental margin were evident. Significant near-shore enrichment was observed. Enrichment was also evident for As, Hg, Mn, and Ni in sediments farther off-shore, suggesting the influence of human activities or hydrothermal vent emissions have enriched deep ocean sediments.
Page Count
61
Department or Program
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Year Degree Awarded
2013
Copyright
Copyright 2013, all rights reserved. This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.
