Metal Speciation/Fractionation in Different Phases of the Marine Environment

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2020) | Viewed by 6036

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chemical speciation and fractionation of metals occurring in different phases of the marine environment are among the fundamental principles explaining their marine biogeochemical variability and cycles. Although metals’ bioavailability is principally related to their ‘free’ (hydrated) forms, their interactions with the active sites of natural organic chelators effectively control their speciation, hence affecting their mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity.

In an attempt to identify and assess the complex parameters which could provide information on metal species’ levels, several analytical methods and techniques are applied in the different phases of the marine environment. Investigating the speciation/fractionation of metals still remains challenging, under the perspective of giving the best estimate of their bioavailable fractions. Thermodynamic modeling together with specialized sensitive analytical techniques have been applied for the study of metal complexation with chelators, present at low concentrations in seawater. Metals’ fractionation in sediments, which may occasionally act as a source and/or sink of metals, is studied through the application of several schemes targeted at the evaluation of metals’ mobilization and fluxes.

Original, unpublished research papers are invited in this Special Issue, providing innovative insights into advances, novel approaches, and recent findings on the wide aspect of speciation/fractionation of metals in the different phases of the marine environment (dissolved and particulate phases of seawater and sediments). Emphasis is on metal speciation and bioavailability, as well as on current tools applied in their study.

Dr. Aikaterini Sakellari
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • metal speciation/fractionation
  • marine environmental phases
  • metal bioavailability
  • metal toxicity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1434 KiB  
Article
Monitoring Arsenic Species Content in Seaweeds Produced off the Southern Coast of Korea and Its Risk Assessment
by Min-hyuk Kim, Junseob Kim, Chang-Hyun Noh, Seogyeong Choi, Yong-Sung Joo and Kwang-Won Lee
Environments 2020, 7(9), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments7090068 - 3 Sep 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5505
Abstract
Seaweed, a popular seafood in South Korea, has abundant dietary fiber and minerals. The toxicity of arsenic compounds is known to be related to their chemical speciation, and inorganic arsenic (iAs) is more detrimental than other species. Due to the different toxicities of [...] Read more.
Seaweed, a popular seafood in South Korea, has abundant dietary fiber and minerals. The toxicity of arsenic compounds is known to be related to their chemical speciation, and inorganic arsenic (iAs) is more detrimental than other species. Due to the different toxicities of the various chemical forms, speciation analysis is important for evaluating arsenic exposure. In this study, total arsenic (tAs) and six arsenic species (arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, and arsenocholine) were analyzed in 180 seaweed samples. Although there were differences between seaweed species, the concentration of tAs was detected at levels ranging from 1 to 100 µg/g, and the distribution of six arsenic species differed depending on the seaweed species. No correlation between the concentration of iAs and tAs was found in most seaweed species. Through statistical clustering, hijiki and gulfweed were seen to be the seaweeds with the highest ratios of iAs to tAs. Using the iAs concentration data from the arsenic speciation analysis, a risk assessment of seaweed intake in South Korea was conducted. The margin of exposure values showed no meaningful risk for the general population, but low levels of risk were identified for seaweed consumers, with high intakes of gulfweed and hijiki. Full article
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