Natural Organic Matter, Heavy Metals, and Goethite

Dissolved natural organic matter (NOM) and heavymetals are abundant in aqueous and terrestrialsystems. Goethite is a ubiquitous iron oxide mineralfound in sediments and aquifers. Sorption processesinvolving mineral surfaces largely control the fate,transport, and environmental impacts of NOM and heavymetals. An understanding of NOM and metal sorptivebehaviors is therefore helpful in the development ofpredictive models. To better understand theinteractions between NOM, heavy metals, and mineralsurfaces, this research (1) implemented a bulkproperty approach to study NOM and potential aqueouscomplexation between NOM and heavy metals, (2)studied the mutual effects of NOM and cadmium ontheir sorption to goethite, and (3) began to developa web-based computer simulator to model NOM sorptionat the mineral-water interface.