Determination of bioavailable Fe redox fractions of sediment pore waters by DGT passive sampling and BDS detection

The bioavailability and toxicity of contaminants in sediments to benthic organisms depend on the speciation of the contaminant [1]. The level of iron supply to sediments creates contrasting chemical pathways, each producing distinctive mineral assemblag- es. Reliable measurement of Fe redox species (Fe2+ and Fe3+) in sediments is essential for studies of pollutants or trace-element cycling. This is, however, a difficult task, because the distribution of chemical species often changes during sampling and storage. In this work the Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films technique (DGT) is investigated as a passive sampling approach used in combination with photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy (BDS) as a detection method for determination of labile Fe-redox species in sediments and natural waters. DGT offers the advantage of pre-concentration of labile (i.e. bioavailable) Fe species from the total dissolved Fe pool in sediment pore waters [2]. The advantage of using BDS [3-4] is also in avoiding contamination by using additional steps as extraction or pre-concentration. Furthermore, combined DGT-BDS provides 2D information about distribution of Fe2+ and the total Fe content in the resin hydrogels [5]. The goal of this research is to show the repeatability of this technique for determining trace amounts of Fe redox species in environmental samples