Abstract

The total metal contents in benthic organisms inhabiting Southern ice field were studied in order to establish the abundance patterns and base line metal contents in pristine areas. Metal contents were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES) in five bivalve mollusks and a sea urchin. The ranking order of metal abundance was similar to different species: Zn > Ba > Cu > Co > Cd > Cr > Ni > Pb and independent of the individual values. Natural contents of these eight metals in six six benthic species were established as a reference for anthrogenically undisturbed sediment system in the Chilean Patagonia.