Surface areas and porosities of particulate matter in turbid estuaries

A vacuum microbalance technique has been used to determine the specific surface areas and porosities of suspended solids and sediments from two turbid estuaries. In the Tamar Estuary, the suspended solids had specific surface areas in the range 8–20 m² g⁻¹ whereas the sediments were in the range 5–15 m² g⁻¹. Sediments from the iron-rich system of Restronguet Creek were in the range 5–26 m² g⁻¹. The specific surface areas and porosities of the particles were influenced by the carbon and non-detrital iron contents. The results are relevant to sorption behaviour of dissolved trace constituents in the presence of natural particles.