Fate of arsenic in contaminated coastal soil induced by rising temperature and seawater intrusion

Abstract

Temperature rising and seawater intrusion are expected to influence the hydrologic regime and redox conditions in coastal soil, and the fate and mechanisms of biogeochemical cycling of Arsenic (As) in the specific environment are poorly understood. This work was carried out in an anaerobic operating chamber by adding sulfate to simulate seawater intrusion under various temperature. Results demonstrated the microbial community diversity was influenced by temperature and the highest Shannon and lowest Simpson index were found at 28 °C. Firmicutes was the dominant bacteria, accounting for 81.16%–93.99%. Desulfosporosinus, with the proportion increasing with temperature, showed a significantly positive correlation with S²⁻ for sulfate addition treatments. Actually, transformation of As was meditated by the concentration and valence of sulfur and iron in soil. The dissimilatory reduction of arsenic-bearing Fe oxides occurring in the initial stage, is suspected to be the primary driver of As release. Then, concentration of As declined in aqueous phase due to the reduction of sulfate, and the proportion of residual speciation of As in solid phase increased with temperature, ranging from 6.78% to 27.70%. The results displayed the reducing condition due to seawater intrusion and temperature change could regulate the release and sequestration of As in the coastal soil.