FATE AND BEHAVIOUR OF SOME TRACE METALS IN TWO SITES: GIRONDE ESTUARY (FRANCE) AND ROSETTA ESTUARY (EGYPT)

Abstract

The coastal zone represents one of the Earth's most complex and dynamic ecosystems. In these areas which fringe the continents of the globe, the intricate terrestrial and marine systems become even more complex as they respond to the pressures created by man. Development of coastal resources has obvious and profound effects on this environment which can be neither predicted nor controlled without full understanding of a particular coastal area

a.- . Estuaries constitute a maJor area of concern to scientists and administrators as they focus their attention on the problems of coastal zone

development and management. This interest is accentuated by the fact that many of the world cities are located on or near estuaries. The Gironde estuary (France) and the Rosetta estuary (Egypt) have been recognized as been polluted by some trace metals. The fate and behavior of Copper, Nickel, Zinc and Cadmium in surface and subsurface sediments collected from both estuaries have been studied and correlated with the sediment texture as well as the total carbonates and the particulate organic carbon contents. /The Gironde estuarine system is characterized by the effective action of the dynamic tide present along the system and well-marked upstreamly more than at the downstream. The Gironde estuary becomes a model for metallic pollution due to industrial activities located far away 300 km upstream of the estuary itself. The Nile is recognized as the longest river in the world. It is the main source of water of irrigation, industrial and domestic uses for Egypt.