Trace element fluxes during the ``Anthropocene{''} in a large South American industrial and port area (Santos and Sao Vicente estuarine system, SE, Brazil)

Author(s)

Friedmann Angeli, Jose Lourenco ^[1] ; Sartoretto, Julie Rosemberg ^[1] ; Mi Kim, Bianca Sung ^[1] ; de Lima Ferreira, Paulo Alves ^[1] ; de Mahiques, Michel Michaelovitch ^[1] ; Lopes Figueira, Rubens Cesar ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Pca Oceanog 191, BR-05508120 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT; v. 193, n. 9 SEP 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

The worldwide evidence of human activities on the environment led the scientific community to recognize a new geologic time unit known as the ``Anthropocene.{''} Since the twentieth century, urbanization and industrialization needs driven by population and economic growth have impacted several ecosystems including the estuaries. To assess the contamination, provenance, and fluxes of trace elements (As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sc, V, and Zn) over the last century, a geochemical and chemometric technique was employed in sediment cores of an industrial and port region of international importance, the Santos and Sao Vicente Estuarine System (SSVES). The results indicated low contamination, with the highest enrichment factors (EFs) for Cu (EF = 3.1), Pb (EF = 2.7), Zn (EF = 2.4), and As (EF = 2.3) found next to the harbor area. The Pre-industrial records confirm the relatively high concentrations of As and its naturally enriched occurrence on the Brazilian shelf. Sediment accumulation rates and trace element fluxes showed a general increase over the years, since the early 1960s, associated with the ``Great Acceleration{''} of the mid-twentieth century. These alterations are human-induced and include urbanization and industrialization. Nonetheless, as the contents and enrichment of trace elements indicate that the region is not severely polluted, we hypothesize that the contamination in the SSVES is likely related to the drainage and erosion of the urbanized adjacent area, rather than direct disposal of inorganic contaminants from the industrial activity. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/08987-0 - Mudbelts of the South and Southeast Brazil: a geochemical dataset to investigate anthropogenic impacts
• Grantee: Bianca Sung Mi Kim
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 11/50581-4 - Susceptibility and resilience of urban estuarine systems to global changes: hydro-sedimentologic budget; sea-level rise; response to extreme events
• Grantee: Rubens Cesar Lopes Figueira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 09/01211-0 - Historical of anthropic activity in Bertioga Channel, Sao Paulo, Brazil: levels of metals, semi-metals and recent sedimentation in sedimentary columns
• Grantee: Rubens Cesar Lopes Figueira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants