GEOCHEMISTRY OF SELENIUM IN A COASTAL SALT-MARSH

The cycling of sedimentary selenium was examined over a one-year period in the Great Marsh, Delaware (USA). While total selenium and elemental selenium decrease with depth in the sediments at similar rates, Se(IV + VI) exhibits pronounced seasonality related to the redox conditions of the marsh. Porewater selenium reflects the diagenetic cycling of Se(IV + VI) in the sediments and suggests that a partial remobilization of sedimentary selenium occurs when the upper sediments become oxidizing. Diagenetic and mass-balance models indicate that the major sources of selenium to the marsh are creek waters and atmospheric deposition, while total selenium may be removed from the sediments via the flux of volatile selenium compounds.