Characterisation of suspended particles collected from an estuary in an urban and industrialised centre using magnets onboard an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Abstract

An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) equipped with rare-earth (Sm-Co) magnets was used to sample suspended particles during its transects of the Derwent estuary in Tasmania. Mineral characterization was then performed in the laboratory using 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy (MB) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Results indicate the sources of the suspended particles to be both natural and industrial.