title: Arsenic behavior in river sediments under redox gradient: a review.
abstract: The fate of arsenic - a redox sensitive metalloid - in surface sediments is closely linked to early diagenetic processes. The review presents the main redox mechanisms and final products of As that have been evidenced over the last years. Oxidation of organic matter and concomitant reduction of oxidants by bacterial activity result in redox transformations of As species. The evolution of the sediment reactivity will also induce secondary abiotic reactions like complexation/de-complexation, sorption, precipitation/dissolution and biotic reactions that could, for instance, lead to the detoxification of some As species. Overall, abiotic redox reactions that govern the speciation of As mostly involve manganese (hydr)-oxides and reduced sulfur species produced by the sulfate-reducing bacteria. Bacterial activity is also responsible for the inter-conversion between As(V) and As(III), as well as for the production of methylated arsenic species. In surficial sediments, sorption processes also control the fate of inorganic As(V), through the formation of inner sphere complexes with iron (hydr)-oxides, that are biologically reduced in buried sediment. Arsenic species can also be bound to organic matter, either directly to functional groups or indirectly through metal complexes. Finally, even if the role of reduced sulfur species in the cycling of arsenic in sediments has been evidenced, some of the transformations remain hypothetical and deserve further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Geosystèmes, UMR 8217 CNRS - University Lille 1, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
authors.forename: Josselin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gorny
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Geosystèmes, UMR 8217 CNRS - University Lille 1, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France. Electronic address: Gabriel.billon@univ-lille1.fr.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Billon
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Geosystèmes, UMR 8217 CNRS - University Lille 1, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lesven
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Geosystèmes, UMR 8217 CNRS - University Lille 1, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dumoulin
authors.affiliation: French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra), Research and Development Division (DRD), Châtenay-Malabry, France.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Madé
authors.affiliation: Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Noiriel
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Bacterial activity; Organic matter; Redox reaction; Speciation