Acid-soluble sulfides in the upper layer of the bottom sediments on the northeastern shelf of the Black Sea: Relation to the pollution and environmental aftereffects

摘要

The contents of labile (acid-soluble) sulfides were determined in the upper layer of the bottom sediments at 80 stations of the Caucasian shelf of the Black Sea. The maximum values of this parameter were registered in the black oozes deposited in the zones of intense pollution in Gelendzhik and Tsemess bays and in the shelf areas adjacent to large health resort objects and to seaports. The contents of acid-soluble sulfides in the sediments mentioned ranged from 400 to 900 mg S/dm3 of wet ooze. In the zones of moderate pollution, they ranged from 200 to 400 mg S/dm3 of the sediment. The rate of the sulfate reduction was as high as 10-40 mg S/dm3 of wet sediment per day. The data obtained show that the accumulation of labile sulfides in the upper layer of the bottom sediments on the shelf is directly related to the anthropogenic pollution and constitutes one of its most hazardous environmental aftereffects. (PUBLICATION ABSTRACT)