Elizabeth River

Rivers, Elizabeth and Christopher Smart. Out of Bedlam XXVII wood engravings by Elizabeth Rivers with... 

Halbrook, R.S., R.L. Kirkpatrick, P.F. Scanlon, M.R. Vaughan, and H.P. Veit. 1993. Muskrat populations in Virginia s Elizabeth River physiological condition and accumulation of environmental contaminants. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 25 438-445. 

Sunda, W.G., P.A. Tester, and S.A. Huntsman. 1990. Toxicity of trace metals to Acartia tonsa in the Elizabeth River and southern Chesapeake Bay. Estuar. Coastal Shelf Sci. 30 207-221. 

Faisal, M., et al., Evidence of aberration the natural cytotoxic cell activity in Fundulus heteroclitus (Pisces Cyprinodontidae) from the Elizabeth River, Virginia, Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol., 4, 339, 1991. 

Rose, W.L. et al., DNA adducts in hematopoietic tissues and blood of the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, from a creosote-contaminated site in the Elizabeth River, Virginia. 

Figure 6.3 YES assay of HPLC fractions of extracts from SPMDs exposed to the Elizabeth River, VA, USA. Reproduced courtesy of Andrew Rastall, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.

Because of this trapping effect, estuarine sediments can provide excellent chronological records of contamination histories. An example is provided in Figure 28.24 for sediment collected from two sites located in two watersheds in the Elizabeth River, VA, USA. In general, sedimentary trace metals tend to be closely related to the transport and deposition of fine-grained and organic-rich sediments. The downcore profiles presented... 

Metal profiles for two sediment cores from the Elizabeth River, VA, USA. Land use along the shores adjacent to collection site PC-1 (Paradise Creek) is primarily industrial and includes oil terminals, shipyard installations, coal transfer facilities, petroleum distribution and shipment operations, and wood treatment facilities. It has been identified as a toxic hot spot by the U.S. EPA. Land-use adjacent to WB-2 (Western Branch) is primarily residential. Excess lopb and profiles for (a) PC-1 and (b) WB-2 profiles. These were used to determine accumulation rates (1.1 to 2.3cm/y at PC-1 and <0.5cm/y at WB-2). Trace metal enrichment factor profiles (see Eq. 28.1 in text) are presented in profiles (c-g) in groups determined by the depth and shape of their concentration peaks. Source From Conrad, C. R, et al. (2007). Marine Pollution Bulletin 54, 385-395. 

Charette, M., and Buessler, K.O. (2004) Submarine groundwater discharge of nutrients and copper to an urban subestuary of Chesapeake Bay (Elizabeth River). Lirnnol. Oceanogr. 49, 376-385. 

Mitra, S., Dickhut, R.M., Kuehl, S.A., and Kimbrough, K.L. (1999b) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source, sediments deposition patterns, and particle geochemistry as factors influencing PAH distribution coefficients in sediments of the Elizabeth River, VA, USA. Mar. Chem. 66, 113-127. 

The Victoria River flows from Lake Albert into Lake George. Water flows into Lake Albert at a rate 25,000 L/s it evaporates from Lake Albert at a rate 1900 L/s and from Lake George at a rate 2100 L/s. The Elizabeth River flows into the Victoria River between the two lakes at a rate 11,000 L/s. Evaporation from the rivers can be ignored. A soluble pollutant flows into Lake Albert at a rate of 2 mg/s. There are no other sources of the pollutant, it is well mixed in both lakes, and it does not evaporate. Both lakes are at hydrological steady states. In the steady state, what is the concentration of the pollutant in each lake in ng/L ... 

Fluorescence and GC/MS analyses show Chat carbonized coal hydrocarbons are widespread contaminants of sediments In the Elizabeth River, Norfolk, Va. The highest levels are found In the vicinity of suspected sources and generally decrease with Increased distance from these sources. Parent aromatic compounds are the predominant hydrocarbon component of carbonized coal and can be uniquely detected even In the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons. Carbonized coal products are a chronic source of priority pollutant polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in the Elizabeth River. 

Sediment samples were collected using a grab sampler (which samples approximately the top 10 cm) aboard Old Dominion University s research vessels, ODU-1 and Linwood Hoi Con. The sample locations are shown In Figure 1. The samples were stored frozen In clean, solvent-washed jars until analyzed. Creosoted wood samples were collected from areas adjacent to the Elizabeth River (Figure 1). Three samples of refined creosote and one sample of coal tar were also analyzed. Creosote samples from Atlantic Wood Industries, the remaining operative creosotlng facility on the Elizabeth River, were not available. The woodstove soot sample was obtained from a domestic woodstove in which predominantly hardwoods were burned. 

Figure 1. Sampling locations for creosoted wood (C) and sediments (S) and the location of the wood preserving facilities on the Elizabeth River, Norfolk, VA.

The three-dimensional fluorescence spectra of a creosote sample, a sediment sample from the vicinity of the creosote facilities (S5), a sediment sample from the entrance to the Elizabeth River (S8), and No. 2 Fuel Oil are shown in Figure 5. 

The fluorescence data support the conclusions from the GC data that creosote is a contaminant of Elizabeth River sediments. 

Carbonized coal products have a unique fingerprint by both GC and fluorescence analyses. Both these fingerprints confirm that sediments from the Elizabeth River are contaminated with carbonized coal products and allow for the detection of carbonized coal hydrocarbons, even in the presence of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. Fluorescence allows for the rapid analysis of more samples and shows the contamination within the Elizabeth River to be widespread. Carbonized coal products in the sediments may constitute a chronic long-term source of PNA s to the water column. 

Virginia State Water Pollution Control Board. "The Elizabeth River An Environmental Perspective" 1983, VA SWPCB Basic Data Bulletin 61. 

Bieri RH, Hein C, Huggett RJ, et al. 1986. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments from the Elizabeth river subestuary. Int J Environ Anal Chem 26 97-113. 

Chiaradia M, Gulson BL, James M et al (1997) Identification of secondary lead sources in the air of an urban environment Atmos Environ 31 3511-3521 Chow TJ, Patterson CC (1961) The occurrence and significance of lead isotopes in pelagic sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 26 263-308 Conrad CF, Chisholm-Brause CJ (2004) Spatial survey of trace metal contaminants in the sediments of the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Mar Pollut Bull 49 319-324 Crone H (2004) Paracelsus the man who defied medicine his real contribution to medicine. The Albarello Press, Melbourne... 

Butte Lake, British Columbia, do not undergo oxidative diagenesis because of a rapid rate of accumulation and short exposure time to dissolved oxygen in bottom waters. In Michigan, lakes with elevated concentrations of copper (34.0p,g/L) have low densities of fish populations. In the Elizabeth River estuary of southern Chesapeake Bay, anthropogenic copper and other chelatable metals are present at concentrations sufficient to adversely affect growth and survival of the copepod Acartia tonsa. In Norway, freshwater fish are present only when copper is less than 60.0p,g/L and some humic acids are present. Successful reproduction of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) occurs at low water concentrations of copper (<10.0p,g/L), lead, and aluminum, and high concentrations of silicon. Failed reproduction occurs at low water concentrations of silicon, and elevated concentrations of copper (>25.0p,g/L), lead, and aluminum. 

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