Particle Water Partitioning and Organotin Dispersal in an Estuary

Contrasting patterns in the axial transport of dissolved and particulate material in estuaries imply that the dispersal of an estuarine contaminant can be critically dependent on the way in which it partitions between dissolved and particle-adsorbed states. Relations of this partition to salinity and particle concentration have been determined in the case of tributyl tin using sediment from two British estuaries (the Crouch and the Tamar). The significance of these for estuarine impact will be discussed in the context of a numerical model of the axial dispersal of tributyl tin in an estuary.