Trace Metals and the Environment: Studying the Behaviour of Iceland’s Glacially Sourced Trace Metals
Home Institution
Bates College
Publication Date
Fall 2020
Abstract
Trace metal contamination in marine ecosystems is a problem for every trophic level, from zooplankton up to humans. The mobility and uptake availability of these metals depend on such environmental parameters as salinity, temperature, and pH, among others. To explore the effects of varying parameters on dissolved metal behaviour, I studied the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, into which the Breidamerkurjökull glacier deposits trace metals from volcanic ash through glacial melt. In this study I develop and follow a sampling procedure to analyze trace metal concentrations in the lagoon, while additionally discussing the behaviour and impact of trace metals, focusing on cadmium, in such varying environmental parameters as would be found in the Jökulsárlón lagoon and surrounding marine ecosystems.
Disciplines
Environmental Monitoring | Environmental Studies | Fresh Water Studies | Glaciology | Marine Biology | Oceanography | Sedimentology
Recommended Citation
Bailey, Owen, "Trace Metals and the Environment: Studying the Behaviour of Iceland’s Glacially Sourced Trace Metals" (2020). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 3373.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/3373
Included in
Environmental Monitoring Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Fresh Water Studies Commons, Glaciology Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Oceanography Commons, Sedimentology Commons
Program Name
Iceland: Climate Change and The Arctic