Sources of Hydrogen Sulfide in Groundwater on Reclaimed Land
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 3
Abstract
Fisherman Islands is an area of reclaimed land at the mouth of the Brisbane River in Queensland, Australia. Ongoing groundwater monitoring has found elevated concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in the groundwater on the island. The presence of on Fisherman Islands is of concern because of its toxic nature, the potential for acid sulfate soil formation, and its noxious odor. The aim of this study was to identify the sources of within the groundwater on Fisherman Islands. It was hypothesized that the is being formed by sulfate reducing bacteria acting on sulfate from seawater, rather than the introduction of sulfide with the dredge sediments. Groundwater and soil samples were collected and analyzed for sulfide, sulfate, and organic carbon contents. Elevated concentrations of sulfides coincide with elevated concentrations of sulfate in the groundwater and elevated concentrations of organic carbon in the sediments, supporting the hypothesis that sulfide formation is the result of heterotrophic, sulfate reducing organisms.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Port of Brisbane Corporation Environmental Scholarship 2001. Graham Kerven (University of Qld, Land and Food Sciences, Analytical Services) provided much appreciated guidance and advice regarding the analytical procedures.
References
Atlas, R. M., and Bartha, R. (1987). Microbial ecology: Fundamentals and applications, Benjamin Cummings, Sydney, Australia.
Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council and Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand (ANZECC). (1992). Australian water quality guidelines for fresh and marine waters, Canberra, Australia.
Berner, R. A. (1970). “Sedimentary pyrite formation.” Am. J. Sci., 268, 1–23.
Berner, R. A. (1984). “Sedimentary pyrite formation—An update.” Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 48(4), 605–615.
Berner, R. A. (1985). “Sulfate reduction, organic-matter decomposition and pyrite formation.”Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 315(1531), 25–38.
Blair, G. J., Chinoim, N., Lefroy, R. D. B., Anderson, G. C., and Crocker, G. J. (1991). “A soil sulfur test for pastures and crops.” Austral. J. Soil Res., 29(5), 619–626.
Bottrell, S. H., Parkes, R. J., Cragg, B. A., and Raiswell, R. (2000). “Isotopic evidence for anoxic pyrite oxidation and stimulation of bacterial sulfate reduction in marine sediments.” J. Geol. Soc. (London), 157, 711–714.
Canfield, D. E., Raiswell, R., and Bottrell, S. (1992). “The reactivity of sedimentary iron minerals toward sulfide.” Am. J. Sci., 292(9), 659–683.
Clark, M. W., McConchie, D., and Ryffel, T. (1997). “Trace metals in Brisbane River estuary sediments and Port of Brisbane Corporation reclamation paddocks.” PhD, Southern Cross Univ., Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
Clesceri, L. S., Greenberg, A. E., Eaton, A. D., and Franson, M. A. H. (1998). “Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater.” American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Environment Federation, Washington, D.C.
Coffey Geosciences. (2000). “Port of Brisbane Fisherman Islands groundwater investigation. Stage 2.”Coffey Geosciences, Brisbane, Australia.
Giordano, R. (2004). “LECO CHN-1000 CHN Determinator.” ⟨www.leco.com⟩, accessed May 28, 2004.
Guerney, P. (1994). “Assessment of acid sulphate potential of dredged soils: Port of Brisbane.” J. R. Technical, Brisbane, Australia.
Jorgensen, B. B. (1982). “Ecology of the bacteria of the sulphur cycle with special reference to anoxic-oxic interface environments.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. B, 298, 543–561.
Lawrence, S. (2001). “Acid sulphate soil assessment: Port of Brisbane.” GHD Engineering, Brisbane, Australia.
Pierzynski, G. M., Sims, J. T., and Vance, G. F. (1994). Soils and environmental quality, Lewis, London.
Raiswell, R. (1982). “Pyrite texture, isotopic composition and the availability of iron.” Am. J. Sci., 282(8), 1244–1263.
Sparks, D. L. (1994). Methods of soil analysis. Part 3. Chemical analysis, Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wis.
Tan, R. H. (1996). Soil sampling, preparation and analysis, Marcel Dekker, New York.
Zumdahl, S. S. (1997). Chemistry, Houghton Mifflin, New York.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 3 • March 2005
Pages: 471 - 477
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 17, 2002
Accepted: May 19, 2004
Published online: Mar 1, 2005
Published in print: Mar 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.