COMPLEX INVESTIGATION OF UNCONSOLIDATED SEDIMENTS OF ROMANIAN PLAIN SALT LAKE

This study aims to determine the elemental composition and the morphological structure of salt lake sediments collected from the Romanian Plain, in order to characterize their origin and evolution. Sediment cores were collected from Movila Miresii Lake in August 2017. Volumetric sampling was continuously performed for the composite profiles with 1 cm resolution. The qualitatively and quantitatively determination elements distribution on the surface of samples and chemical composition, as well as the surface morphology of sediments was performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. The geochemical properties of sediments were achieved by Attenuated Total Reflectance - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, which well-provide information on a wide range of organic and minerogenic components, (e.g., carbohydrates, humic substances, silicates and carbonates). This information is of particular interest for paleolimnological studies because lake sediments are commonly composed of a mixture of various organic and minerogenic compounds originating from the fossilization of tissues and skeletons of aquatic organisms and from the erosion of lake soils. Analysis for a suite of metals rather than just target anthropogenic metals (e.g., Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cd, Fe, Cr, Al and Ni) was accomplished using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. High content of several elements including Fe, Ni, Cr, Al and Zn in sediment samples was correlated with their sources. In further studies, it is possible to be identified situations that are or not priori favorable for tracing of these elements using the isotopic approach.