Propiedades magnéticas de los sedimentos recientes de la Ría de Bilbao: un relato de contaminación industrial y recuperación postindustrial en el Antropoceno

Abstract

Rock magnetic properties of 13 samples of surficial materials and 160 samples of recent sediments obtained from 7 sedimentary cores along the Bilbao estuary have been analyzed in order to investigate the magnetic fingerprint of anthropogenic pollution in this area. The results have been correlated to previously published heavy metal concentrations, main and trace element geochemistry and benthic foraminiferal data, revealing a strong relationship between magnetic properties and industrial pollution, but also a highly complex spatial-temporal interplay of different sources and types of pollutants. Magnetic data are indicative of a progressive but spatially heterogeneous decrease of ferromagnetic pollution in sediments after the deindustrialization of the Bilbao area, with two hotspots of persistent pollution remaining at the mouths of two of the main tributary creeks of the estuary (Galindo and Gobelas).