Acid Sulfate Soils and Metal Accumulation in Sediments in Rosån Catchment, Northern Sweden

Abstract: Global environmental concerns arise when marine deposits with fine-grained iron sulfide-rich sediments (FeS and FeS2), now situated above sea level, oxidize from anthropogenic lowering of the groundwater table. The oxidation of iron sulfides decreases the soil pH and the acidic environment of these Acid Sulfate Soils (AS) soils increase weathering and mobilization of metals into adjacent watercourses, lakes and estuaries. Low pH and enhanced concentrations of metals are known to influence water quality negatively, causing fish kills and reduced aquatic diversity. Sulfide rich sediments were deposited in the Baltic Sea after the last glaciation and are now abundantly found along the coasts of for example the Bothnian Bay as a result of isostatic rebound. Recent studies from Finland have stated associations between leached (AS) soils and increased concentrations of metals in estuary sediments, thus the effects are likely to be similar in Sweden. With financial support from the Interreg Nord project “Ecological restoration in coastal river basins in the Bothnian Bay” in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU), sediments from three lakes and two estuarine sites in the Rosån catchment in Norrbotten county, northern Sweden, were sampled and analyzed with fpXRF, ICP-MS and LOI methods. Elemental concentrations and organic contents were compared to establish accumulation trends over time and relationships between metal concentrations in recently deposited sediments and potential influence from previously sampled (AS) soils. Correlations in time, to anthropogenic activity, such as ditching were also considered. A primary allover trend with increasing concentrations of Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Cupper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Zinc (Zn), was noticed in a majority of the lake and estuary sediment samples. With some site variation, also two discrete peaks at different depth, were found in the upper 20 to 30 cm of the sampled sediments. Significant correlations to organic matter were also found for a considerable amount of the elements. Soil samples from (AS) soils in areas related to Rosån show pH values as low as 2.62 and oxidation depths down to 170 cm. Substantial elemental depletion in the oxidized zone suggest increased weathering, leaching and mobilization of Al, Cd, Co, Mn, Ni, REE, Zn and to some extent As, Cu, Fe and Pb from the soil, as a consequence of the acidic environment. A relationship between (AS) soils and increased metal concentrations is therefore likely. The sedimentation rate of roughly 0.2 cm/year was calculated from the separation age of the lakes and the sediment depth to an interpreted transition from more marine environment to lake settings. Consequently the distinct peaks of increased metal concentrations are thus suggested to be related to anthropogenic activities as for example improved drainage methods after the Second World War, but proper dating of the sediments is needed to establish any certain correlations.