Intertidal geothermal hot springs as a source of trace elements to the coastal zone: A case study from Bahía Concepción, Gulf of California

María Luisa Leal-Acosta, Evgueni Shumilin, Nicolai Mirlean, Elena Lounejeva Baturina, Ignacio Sánchez-Rodríguez, Francisco Delgadillo-Hinojosa, José Borges-Souza

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigated the influence of the intertidal geothermal hot spring (GHS) on the biogeochemistry of trace elements in Santispac Bight, Bahía Concepción (Gulf of California). The geothermal fluids were enriched in As and Hg mainly in ionic form. The suspended particulate matter of the GHS had elevated enrichment factor (EF) > 1 of As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Mo, Sb, Sn, Sr, Ti, U and Zn. The sediment core from GHS1 had high concentration of As, Hg, Corg, S, V, Mo, and U and the extremely high EF of these elements at 8 cm of the core. The maximum bioaccumulation of As and Hg was in seaweeds Sargassum sinicola collected near the GHS2. The results confirm the input of trace elements to the coastal zone in Bahía Concepción from geothermal fluids and the evident modification of the chemical composition of the adjacent marine environment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)51-64
Number of pages14
JournalMarine Pollution Bulletin
Volume128
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Coastal zone
  • Gulf of California
  • Intertidal geothermal hot spring
  • Potentially toxic elements

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