Distribution of Major and Trace Elements in Sediments and Pore Water of Lake Erie

Concentration profiles of major and trace elements were determined in sediment cores from the Central Basin of Lake Erie. The concentrations of trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the sediments were greatest at approximately 18 cm sediment depth, corresponding to the early 1960s. The concentrations of all elements in the sediments have considerably decreased in the last decade. However, the concentrations of Hg, Pb, and Cd are still about 10, 5, and 4 times greater, respec, than those in the pre-industrial sediments. The profiles of dissolved concentrations of the trace ele in pore water were characterized by maxima below the sediment-water interface, dropping off rapidly within the zone of reduced sediments. Concentrations of dissolved trace elements below the sediment-water interface are about one order of magnitude greater than those in the lake water. Conservative estimates of benthic fluxes ranged from 0.04 /μg/cm².y to 194 /μg/cm².y for Cd and Fe, respectively. Upward diffusive remobilization from sediments to lake water is a significant transport process in the Central Basin of Lake Erie and may play an important role in the transport of trace elements from the sediments.