Gulf and Caribbean Research Volume 30 Issue 1 2019 Chromium Distribution in Water and Sediments in the Mobile River and Bay, Alabama Ryan R. Roseburrough Dauphin Island Sea Lab; Spring Hill College, [email protected] Xiangli Wang Dauphin Island Sea Lab; University of South Alabama, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/gcr Recommended Citation Roseburrough, R. R. and X. Wang. 2019. Chromium Distribution in Water and Sediments in the Mobile River and Bay, Alabama. Gulf and Caribbean Research 30 (1): SC33-SC37. Retrieved from https://aquila.usm.edu/gcr/vol30/iss1/13 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18785/gcr.3001.13 This Short Communication is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Gulf and Caribbean Research by an authorized editor of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VOLUME 25 VOLUME GULF AND CARIBBEAN Volume 25 RESEARCH March 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS GULF AND CARIBBEAN SAND BOTTOM MICROALGAL PRODUCTION AND BENTHIC NUTRIENT FLUXES ON THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO NEARSHORE SHELF RESEARCH Jeffrey G. Allison, M. E. Wagner, M. McAllister, A. K. J. Ren, and R. A. Snyder....................................................................................1—8 WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT SPECIES RICHNESS AND DISTRIBUTION ON THE OUTER—SHELF SOUTH TEXAS BANKS? Harriet L. Nash, Sharon J. Furiness, and John W. Tunnell, Jr. ......................................................................................................... 9—18 Volume 30 ASSESSMENT OF SEAGRASS FLORAL COMMUNITY STRUCTURE FROM TWO CARIBBEAN MARINE PROTECTED 2019 AREAS ISSN: 2572-1410 Paul A. X. Bologna and Anthony J. Suleski ............................................................................................................................................. 19—27 SPATIAL AND SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF RED DRUM CAUGHT AND RELEASED IN TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA, AND FAC- TORS ASSOCIATED WITH POST—RELEASE HOOKING MORTALITY Kerry E. Flaherty, Brent L. Winner, Julie L. Vecchio, and Theodore S. Switzer....................................................................................29—41 CHARACTERIZATION OF ICHTHYOPLANKTON IN THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO FROM SEAMAP PLANK- TON SURVEYS, 1982—1999 Joanne Lyczkowski—Shultz, David S. Hanisko, Kenneth J. Sulak, Ma gorzata Konieczna, and Pamela J. Bond ..................................43—98 ł GULF AND CARIBBEAN RESE Short Communications DEPURATION OF MACONDA (MC—252) OIL FOUND IN HETEROTROPHIC SCLERACTINIAN CORALS (TUBASTREA COCCINEA AND TUBASTREA MICRANTHUS) ON OFFSHORE OIL/GAS PLATFORMS IN THE GULF Steve R. Kolian, Scott Porter, Paul W. Sammarco, and Edwin W. Cake, Jr........................................................................................99—103 EFFECTS OF CLOSURE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER GULF OUTLET ON SALTWATER INTRUSION AND BOTTOM WATER HYPOXIA IN LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN Michael A. Poirrier .............................................................................................................................................................................105—109 DISTRIBUTION AND LENGTH FREQUENCY OF INVASIVE LIONFISH (PTEROIS SP.) IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO OF MEXICO Alexander Q. Fogg, Eric R. Hoffmayer, William B. Driggers III, Matthew D. Campbell, Gilmore J. Pellegrin, and William Stein ............................................................................................................................................................................................................111—115 ARCH NOTES ON THE BIOLOGY OF INVASIVE LIONFISH (PTEROIS SP.) FROM THE NORTHCENTRAL GULF OF MEXICO William Stein III, Nancy J. Brown—Peterson, James S. Franks, and Martin T. O’Connell ...............................................................117—120 RECORD BODY SIZE FOR THE RED LIONFISH, PTEROIS VOLITANS (SCORPAENIFORMES), IN THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO Alfonso Aguilar—Perera, Leidy Perera—Chan, and Luis Quijano—Puerto ...........................................................................................121—123 EFFECTS OF BLACK MANGROVE (AVICENNIA GERMINANS) EXPANSION ON SALTMARSH (SPARTINA ALTERNI- FLORA) BENTHIC COMMUNITIES OF THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST Jessica Lunt, Kimberly McGlaun, and Elizabeth M. Robinson..........................................................................................................125—129 TIME—ACTIVITY BUDGETS OF STOPLIGHT PARROTFISH (SCARIDAE: SPARISOMA VIRIDE) IN BELIZE: CLEANING INVITATION AND DIURNAL PATTERNS Wesley A. Dent and Gary R. Gaston .................................................................................................................................................131—135 FIRST RECORD OF A NURSE SHARK, GINGLYMOSTOMA CIRRATUM, WITHIN THE MISSISSIPPI SOUND Jill M. Hendon, Eric R. Hoffmayer, and William B. Driggers III......................................................................................................137—139 REVIEWERS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................141 INSTRUCTION TO AUTHORS ...............................................................................................................................................................142-143 Published by © 2013 The University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Published by Research Laboratory. 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Ocean Springs, Mississippi www.usm.edu/gcrl Gulf and Caribbean Research Vol 30, SC33-SC37, 2019 Manuscript received August 30, 2019; accepted November 14, 2019 DOI: 10.18785/gcr.3001.13 SHORT COMMUNICATION CHROMIUM DISTRIBUTION IN WATER AND SEDIMENTS IN THE MOBILE RIVER AND BAY, ALABAMA§ Ryan Roseburrough1,2 and Xiangli Wang1,3* 1Dauphin Island Sea Lab, University Programs, 101 Bienville Boulevard, Dauphin Island, AL USA 36528; 2Spring Hill College, 4000 Dauphin Street, Mobile, AL, USA; 3University of South Alabama, Department of Marine Sciences, Mobile, AL, USA 36688; *Corresponding author, email: [email protected] KEY WORDS: Chromium, Mobile Bay, Barry Plant, Trace Metal, Pollution INTRODUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS Industrial activities have led to wide—spread heavy metal Labware cleaning contamination in the environment (Gambrell 1994). Chro- All HCl and HNO3 used were distilled using Savillex mium (Cr) is widely used for anti—corrosion and tanning in- DST—1000 acid distills. Before use, all plastics were acid dustries and can cause severe groundwater contaminations washed in 10% HCl, either in an acid bath for a minimum (e.g., Ball and Izbicki 2004). Chromium mainly exists in 2 of 3 days or refluxed overnight at 50°C, and all Teflon bea- valence states, trivalent Cr (III) and hexavalent Cr (VI). Cr kers were washed in a 50% HNO3 bath heated for at least 6 (III) is insoluble at circumneutral pH and is a bioessential h at 90°C. After acid washing, all plastics and Teflon beakers micronutrient (Rai et al. 1987). In contrast, Cr (VI) is carci- were rinsed twice with Milli—Q (MQ) water with 18.2 MΩ nogenic and soluble, and thus can cause wide—spread pollu- resistivity. Plastic pipette tips were cleaned with 6N HCl and tion (Dayan and Paine 2001). MQ water. Chromium distribution is poorly studied in the Mobile— Sampling Tensaw river estuary system in Alabama. Two main potential All samples were collected on 17 June 2019 from the Mo- point sources of Cr exist in the lower reach of the Mobile— bile River and Mobile Bay (Figure 1). Sample 1 was taken Tensaw river: Alabama Power’s Plant Barry and the Indus- for approximate upstream background levels, while samples trial Park in downtown Mobile, Alabama. Plant Barry is a 3 and 4, the Ash Pond and Outflow of Plant Barry respec- coal burning power plant with a risk of allowing heavy met- tively, and 14—16, the Industrial Park, were taken in areas als that were once trapped in coal ash to leak into the river with heavy industrial uses. All other samples were taken system from the unlined, on—site ash pond that sits on the from areas not as heavily influenced by urbanization. Water bank of the Mobile River (Callaway et al. 2018). Although Cr samples were collected at the surface in 1 L plastic bottles. in coal ash is mostly (>95%) non—toxic Cr(III) (Huffman et All sediment samples, except for sample 2, were collected al. 1994), Cr(III) contained in large amounts of coal ash can from the riverbed channel using a Peterson grab, and only be oxidized to the harmful Cr(VI), thus posing long—term fresh sediments from the core of the grab were collected in risks to the environment. A limited number of sediment and acid—washed plastic 50 mL centrifuge tubes for analysis. groundwater samples taken at the plant showed detectable Sample 2 was taken from the exposed river bank rock above dissolved Cr in groundwater and higher Cr in sediments the water. Samples were placed in a cooler with ice packs near the plant compared to background sediments (Callaway until returning to the lab where they were put into a refrig- et al. 2018). Therefore, it is necessary to take more sediment erator (4°C). Water