Analysis of Trace Metals in Bottom Sediments in Support of Deepwater Biological Processes Studies on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Continental Slope and Rise. Second Interim Report May 1, 1984-January 24, 1986

摘要

Sediment samples collected during the first four cruises to the continental slope and rise off the Mid-Atlantic states have been analyzed for 12 metals (Al, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn). Because of its high concentration in drilling mud, Ba is most commonly measured to trace drilling mud in the marine environment. In one core collected on Cruise 3 from Station 1 adjacent to the drilling in Block 372, the concentration of Ba was 13 percent higher in the surface sediment than deeper sediment. The enrichment is probably not harmful to benthic organisms. Other samples from Cruise 3, Station 1 do not show the same increase indicating a patchy distribution of drilling-related Ba.