Volatile organotin compounds (butylmethyltin) in three European estuaries (Gironde, Rhine, Scheldt) - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Biogeochemistry Année : 2002

Volatile organotin compounds (butylmethyltin) in three European estuaries (Gironde, Rhine, Scheldt)

Résumé

The occurrence of volatile organometallic species of tin was evidenced and investigated in three major European estuaries, such as the Gironde (F), the Rhine (NL) and the Scheldt (B/NL), along with the salinity gradient and for all seasons. The most ubiquitous species, observed in surface water, were found to be methylated forms of butyl-tin derivatives (BunSnMe4-n, n = 0-3), with concentrations significantly higher in the Scheldt (ca. 75-2000 fmol l-1) than in the Rhine (ca. 5-125 fmol l-1) and the Gironde (ca. 5-90 fmol l-1). Additionally, estuarine anoxic sediments were found to contain large amount of such volatile tin species. The presence of volatile organic tin compounds is then supposed to result from natural methylation processes of both inorganic metal and anthropogenic derivatives accumulated in the sediments (i.e. tributyltin released from ship antifouling paintings and waste water discharges). These results suggest that microbial mediated and/or chemical methylation mechanisms are likely to produce volatile organotin species in anoxic estuarine environments. The production of volatile organotin species is also mainly dependent on the direct anthropogenic load of butyltin compounds within the estuary and on the residence time of such compounds in the system. Estuarine profiles along with the salinity gradient demonstrate that all investigated estuaries are continuous sources of volatile tin species, although these estuaries present different anthropogenic organotin discharges. In consequence, significant export of volatile tin species to the adjacent coastal waters were found. Finally, the evaluation of the seasonal fluxes of volatile tin species to the atmosphere establishes that volatilisation is a major sink for such compound in estuaries with long water residence time (i.e. Scheldt, Gironde).

Dates et versions

hal-01590067 , version 1 (19-09-2017)

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Citer

Emmanuel Tessier, David Amouroux, Olivier François Xavier Donard. Volatile organotin compounds (butylmethyltin) in three European estuaries (Gironde, Rhine, Scheldt). Biogeochemistry, 2002, 59 (1-2), pp.161-181. ⟨10.1023/A:1015536531763⟩. ⟨hal-01590067⟩
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