Mössbauer study of sediment cores from Victoria harbour, Hong Kong

The concentrations of Fe and other abundant metals in 6 m-long sediment cores from four locations in the world’s largest container port, Hong Kong, have been determined, in addition to physical characteristics and 210Pb activities. Fe is generally present at concentrations between 2% and 3% (depending on the particle size), similar to values found in granitic rocks. Its speciation was studied by room temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy. Two Fe(II) species and one Fe(III) species were found to be present in the cores. The relative proportions of Fe(II) and Fe(III) generally changed with the depth of sediment. Most noticeably, for the core taken from near the Star Ferry Pier at the Kowloon side of Victoria harbour, the proportion of Fe(II) was fairly constant down to 4.75 m, but then decreased with depth, so that near the core base (6 m depth), the iron was present almost exclusively as Fe(III). The colour of the core changed from olive grey to olive yellow between 5 and 6 m. According to the core chronology, this depth represents ca. 1900, before the ferry pier construction, when the harbour was unpolluted.