Christian Opp¹, Jens Hahn², Nina Zitzer³, Gabriela Laufenberg³

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¹ Department of Hydrology and Soil Science, Faculty of Geography, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
² Department of Geography, Faculty of Mathematic and Natural Science, University of Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany.
³ Mass Spectrometry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
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Abstract: The impact of reservoir emptying on the concentrations of dissolved heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) in pore and surface waters was studied in the Aar Reservoir, a small reservoir in central Germany, during and after the emptying process. This study was conducted to observe binding changes within pore waters as well as the input of dissolved heavy metals in waters of the Aar Creek, what becomes possible when the reservoirs water table is removed and lake sediments become exposed. In pore waters, no clear shifting tendencies between dissolved and sorbed heavy metal fractions could be found after the completed sediment exposure. These relatively low dynamics in pore waters can be explained by the fine texture of the lake sediments, which are characterized by a high water holding capacity, what led to high remaining water contents and therefore slowed down the redox changes. A few days after the completed emptying, a general increase of dissolved heavy metal concentrations occurred in running waters of the Aar Creek as a result of pore water drainage. Here, element specific differences in mobilization and transportation abilities were found, what can be reconstructed by the ratio of dissolved heavy metals in pore and surface waters.

Keywords: Heavy Metals, Reservoirs, Sediments, Surface Waters

Cite this paper: Opp, C. , Hahn, J. , Zitzer, N. and Laufenberg, G. (2015) Heavy Metal Concentrations in Pores and Surface Waters during the Emptying of a Small Reservoir. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 3, 66-72. doi: 10.4236/gep.2015.310011.

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