Determination of Aluminum Concentration in Seawater by Colorimetry and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Aluminum, although present in very low concentrations in seawater, may be responsible for the excess sound attenuation observed in seawater below 10 kHz. However, concentration values cited in the literature vary widely (10 to the -3 power to 0.5 ppm), so it has become necessary to redetermine the aluminum concentration of seawater. Accordingly, both colorimetric and atomic absorption analyses were performed on 6 recent samples of known depth from a location off Bermuda; 8 older surface water samples from different locations were analyzed by the atomic absorption method. (Author)