Forms taken by metals in the suspensate of Indian Ocean surface waters.

Data are given on the distributions of the forms of Al, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb and Li in 20 samples. The predominant form of the elements is that adsorbed on amorphous iron and manganese hydroxides, which may account for up to 70% of the total of the element in the suspensate. Up to 15% is associated with the organic matter in the suspensate from the pelagic area, while this form reaches 30-70% in the interior seas of the Pacific. The residual form on average constitutes from 8% (for Zn) to 35% (for Al). The behavior of the metals along the N-S section running along 80-100^oE, indicates circumcontinental zoning for these metals (apart from Pb), which is seen as a reduction in the proportion of the lithogenic (residual) form as one recedes into the pelagic area.-Journal summary