Features of the distribution of the suspended form of iron in the water column of the Caspian Sea

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the distribution of iron in the water suspension of the Middle Caspian Sea. The relevance of the work is determined by the need to assess the natural state of the marine environment and fix its basic state (including various forms of chemical elements) for further use in order to monitor the environmental situation on the shelf of the Caspian Sea in the conditions of intensification of exploration and development of oil fields. Aim. To establish the characteristic features of the behavior of suspended iron in the waters of the Middle Caspian. Materials and methods. The material selected in 1989-1990 during the voyages of research vessels was studied. owned by the Caspian Research Institute of Fisheries, before the development of oil and gas fields. It is represented by filtered suspended particles from 178 water samples taken from various layers of the water column at 63 stations. Determination of iron content was carried out on the PGS-2 spectrograph by evaporation. Results. The minimum concentrations of the suspended form of iron inthe surface layer of the water column were established on the section of the inner shelf and the underwater slope of the Middle Caspian basin, which is associated with the removal of solid particles by drift currents. The concentrations of the suspended form of iron in the surface layer increase towards the middle of the sea, which is caused by the contraction of suspended particles by the centripetal forces of the cyclonic current. The bottom layer is characterized by increased concentrations of the suspended form of iron. Near river deltas, they are associated with the subsidence of solid particles carried out from the land. Abnormally high concentrations of suspended iron in the bottom horizon of the central part of the Middle Caspian basin, recorded at individual stations, are due to the influx of iron with emanations of bottom mud volcanoes and its coagulation in an alkaline environment. In general, with increasing depth, there is a consistent increase in the concentrations of the suspended form of iron. This is due to a change in salinity and an increase in vertical stratification (a decrease in the salinity of the surface horizon and an increase in the salinity of the deep layers). This leads to coagulation and flocculation of organic and organometallic colloids and the transfer of dissolved iron into suspension.