Grain size and geochemical dataset of the St. George branch sediments, Danube Delta
Description
The data represents granulometric (Median, Standard deviation, Skewness, textural classes) and geochemical analyses (major, such as CaCO3, TOC, Fe2O3, and minors such as MnO and TiO2), as well as some trace elements with genetic significance (Rb, Sr, Zr) or toxic and potentially affected by anthropic influences (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, V, Ni, Co) from the superficial bed sediments of three successive meanders of the Danube River (St. George distributary).
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Surface sediment samples were collected with a grab sampler “Van Veen” type. The sediment grain size analysis was done through diffractometry using the granulometric laser analyzer „Mastersizer 2000E Ver.5.20 made by Malvern Instruments Ltd.-Malvern UK. The texture categories (sand, silt, clays), and of fractions of each texture category, comply with the Udden-Wentworth logarithmic scale with detailing three fractions on a 1Φ interval in the clay domain. For the geochemical analyses, the sediments were oven dried and homogenized using a mortar grinder RM 200 (Retsch, Germany) and sieved with a 250-μm stainless steel sieve. The total organic carbon (TOC) and CaCO3 concentrations were determined in accordance with WakleyBlack titration method modified by Gaudette et al. [1] and Black [2], respectively. Fe2O3 (total), TiO2, Rb, Sr, Zr and V have been analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, using a VRA-30 sequential spectrometer, on compacted powders; Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr and Pb have been determined by flame, AAS and Cd – by graphite furnace AAS on an ATI UNICAM 939E AA spectrometer, after digestion of the samples with boiling HNO3.