Vertical profiles of dissolved Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn in the sedime
nt pore waters of the intertidal mudflats of the Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay
Ramsar Sire of Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, were measured using t
he polyacrylamide gel diffusive equilibration thin film (DET) technique. Th
e ranges of concentrations of dissolved Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, and Mn in t
he pore water of the top 0 to 20 cm of sediment were 2.2 to 10.0 nM, 346.0
to 950.0 nM 243.8 to 454.8 nM, 23.2 to 51.2 mM, 39.8 to 249.5 mu M, and 13.
4 to 20.7 mu M, respectively. Enrichment of these trace metals was observed
in the upper 0- to 7-cm layer. Profiles of conditional distribution coeffi
cient, log(K-D), of the trace metals and results of multiple regression ana
lysis have revealed that reduction of Mn (hydrous) oxides was the major rem
obilization mechanism for Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the mudflats. Benthic d
iffusive fluxes of these trace metals from the mudflats were also estimated
on the basis of the concentration gradients of trace metals between surfac
e sediments and the overlying water column. The magnitude of the estimated
diffusive fluxes followed the order Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Cd.