Metal Speciation in Sediments of Lake Burragorang, Sydney, Australia

Metal pollution of marine systems is a serious problem and has fascinated a lot of attention of scientific community worldwide. The accumulation of heavy metals in the bottom sediments of water bodies and their remobilization to the overlying water are two of the most significant mechanisms in the regulation of pollutant concentration in an aquatic environment. The chemical form of the metal in the sediment ultimately determines the behaviour and mobilisation ability of the metal in the environment. The Lake burragorang,Sydney, Australia, is one of the largest domestic water supply storage reservoirs in the world. This book presents first study on distribution and speciation of metals on Lake burragorang. The investigation certainly helps environment engineers, environment health professionals and sedimentologists in understanding background levels of studied metals and establishing sediment quality guidelines from distribution studies. Speciation study should reflect light on behaviour and mobilisation ability of the metal in the environment and subsequent detrimental impact on aquatic ecosystem.