INSIGHTS INTO SEQUENTIAL CHEMICAL EXTRACTION PROCEDURES FROM QUANTITATIVE XRD: A STUDY OF TRACE METAL PARTITIONING IN SEDIMENTS RELATED TO FROG MALFORMITES

Abstract

Sequential chemical extraction (SCE) and quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) were used in combination to assess trace metal speciation and availability in sediment from two separate marshes in western Vermont, USA, one with high (45%) and one with low (<5%) northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) malformity rates. The types of malformities observed in the field are very similar to malformities produced in laboratory studies where frogs are exposed to waters and sediments with elevated levels of trace metals such as Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn.