Dissolved Fe(II) in a river-estuary system rich in dissolved organic matter

Concentrations of dissolved Fe available to the ligand ferrozine are elevated throughout the estuary (up to 21 μM in freshwater) and notably higher than those previously reported likely due to seasonal variation. Fe(II) is observed to account for a large, varying fraction of the dissolved Fe available to ferrozine (25.5 ± 12.5%) and this fraction decreases with increasing salinity. We demonstrate that the very high DOM concentration in this environment and association of this DOM with dissolved Fe, prevents the accurate measurement of dissolved Fe concentrations in situ using a sensor reliant on rapid competitive ligand exchange.