Aqueous Iron-Sulfide Clusters in Variably Saturated Soil Systems: Implications for Iron Cycling and Fluid Flow

Iron and sulfur cycling is an important control on contaminant fate and transport, the availability of micronutrients and the physics of water flow. This study explores the effects of soil structure (i.e. layers, lenses, macropores, or fractures) on linked biogeochemical and hydrological processes involving Fe and S cycling in the vadose zone using packed soil columns. Three laboratory soil columns were constructed: a homogenized medium-grained sand, homogenized organic-rich loam, and a sand-over-loam layered column. Both upward and downward infiltration of water was evaluated during experiments to simulate rising water table and rainfall events respectively. Water samples extracted by lysimeter were analyzed for reduced species (including total sulfide, Fe(II), and FeSaq) voltammetrically using a mercury drop electrode. In addition to other reduced species, aqueous FeS clusters (FeSaq) were observed in two of the columns, with the greatest concentrations of FeSaq occurring in close proximity to the soil interface in the layered column. To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of aqueous FeS clusters in partially saturated sediments. The aqueous nature of FeSaq allows it to be transported instead of precipitating and suggests that current conceptual models of iron-sulfur cycling may need to be adapted to account for an aqueous phase. The presence of iron-rich soil aggregates near the soil interface may indicate that FeS clusters played a critical role in the formation of soil aggregates that subsequently caused up to an order of magnitude decrease in hydraulic conductivity.