The bioturbation-driven chemical release process

Abstract

Something is missing in the model of how contaminated sediments and the nearby freshwater columns recover over time. Louis Thibodeaux at Louisiana State University and Victor Bierman at Limno-Tech, Inc., argue that the missing element is bioturbation - bottom-dwelling organisms moving sediment particles - and this may be responsible for a major, if not dominant, fraction of the pollutants released from sediments to the water column.