Galveston Bay is the second largest estuary in Texas. It receives majo
r urban runoff from the Houston area, its major river drains the Dalla
s-Ft Worth Metroplex, and the area surrounding the Bay is intensely in
dustrialized, with chemical and petroleum production being especially
prominent. Consequently, there are serious concerns about the possible
contamination of the Bay and previous studies have indicated toxic me
tals at elevated concentrations (e.g. NOAA, 1989a). We have conducted
an extensive investigation of Galveston Bay trace metals, in which the
ir distribution in the water column, oysters and sediments were determ
ined. Results of the water column and oyster analyses indicate that me
tal levels in open areas of Galveston Bay are currently similar to tho
se in more pristine bays elsewhere. Industrial metal inputs to the Bay
have not led to greatly increased concentrations in water, sediments
and biota. However, the sediment analyses indicated that such inputs m
ay have been significant in the past. Total Cu, Zn, Pb, and Ag concent
rations in the waters, determined by state-of-the-art clean techniques
, are 1, 2.7, 0.3, and 0.006 mug liter-1, respectively, and are mostly
regulated by the dynamics of sediment suspension and settling. This l
eads to a correlation of particulate trace metal concentration with th
e suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations, and trace metal e
nrichment in particles at low SPM concentrations. Forty-four percent o
f the individual sediment sampling sites exhibited an 'anomalous' conc
entration with respect to at least one of the metals studied and about
half of these sites were directly associated with dredge spoils. The
study also indicated that many of the metals are significantly convert
ed to a coprecipitate with pyrite in the top 10 cm of sediment.