Freshwater sediments were collected from eight different locations in California to study the influence of sediment properties on the adsorption and desorption of the model herbicide, diuron (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-l,l-dimethylurea). The sediments were characterized to physical and chemical properties using the same methods used for soils. The sediments had a range of organic carbon of 0.91 to 19% and were high in silt and clay. The adsorption of diuron was described by the Freundlich equation. Adsorption at 25 °C expressed as the Freundlich coefficient, k, was positively correlated to the amount of organic carbon present. There was no correlation with total CEC. The desorption of diuron was evaluated by taking the difference between the slopes of the adsorption and desorption isotherms. As the difference between these slopes increased, less diuron was desorbed. These differences were positively correlated to k and organic carbon. Adsorption at temperatures of 5, 25, and 40°C on three sediments indicated that the adsorption of diuron decreased as the temperature increased. tern of a lake, then it would not only be important to study their chemical and physical properties, but also the potential retention or release of pesticides on these sediments. The capacity of lake sediments to adsorb or desorb pesticides is likely to be one of the most important factors which influence the concentration of a pesticide in the lake water. Since sediments are formed and exposed to conditions different from soils, it is important to know if the adsorption of a pesticide would vary with the same physical-chemical properties as for soils. The study was undertaken to determine the extent to which variation of several sediment characteristics, including organic matter, cation exchange capacity, and pH, affects sorption of the model herbicide, diuron (3(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-l,l-dimethylurea). Diuron is nonpolar herbicide of relatively low water solubility. It is used as both a preand postemergence herbicide. Additional Index Words: herbicides, pesticides, water quality, sediment characteristics, organic matter content, apparent heats of adsorption. Peck, D. E., D. L. Corwin, and W. J. Farmer. 1980. Adsorption-desorption of diuron by freshwater sediments. J. Environ. Qual. 9:101106. Although herbicide-soil interactions have been extensively studied, litte attention has been given to herbicide-sediment interactions. There have been some investigations of insecticide adsorption on lake sediment (Lotse et al., 1968; Vieth and Lee, 1971); however, there appears to be a lack of quantitative studies of the adsorption of herbicides on lake sediments. Poinke and Chesters (1973) have reviewed the literature on pesticide-sediment interactions. With the increasing use of herbicides in modern agriculture, it is likely that some will reach water bodies. Once in the water, it becomes important to understand the physical-chemical dynamics of the herbicide and sediment. It has been shown that sediments can play an important role in affecting the concentration of pesticides in a lake. Earlier investigations have shown (Bridges, 1961) that as the concentration of a given pesticide decreases in the water phase, there is a concomitant increase in the pesticide content of the sediment. As discussed by Chesters and Konrad (1971), these sediments may act as reservoirs, being able to recycle pesticides back into the aquatic environment. If lake sediments are considered as part of the life sys’ Contribution of the Dep. of Soil and Environ. Sci., Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521. The research leading to this report was supported by the Univ. of California, Water Resour. Center, as part of Water Resour. Center Project UCAL-WRC-W-485. Received 23 Sept. 1978. 2 Graduate Research Assistant, Graduate Research Assistant, and Associate Professor of Soil Science, Univ. of California, Riverside, respectively. Current address of senior author: Cooperative Extension Service, Univ. of Nevada, P.O. Box 651, Overton, NV 89040. Senior author is presently Soil and Water Scientist, Univ. of Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, Logandale, NV 89021. MATERIALS AND METHODS The sediments were collected from eight different sites in California. Some of the chemical and physical properties of the sediments are listed in Table 1. The sediments were chosen to represent a number of differing environments and to be high in fine materials and organic matter. The sampling tool used to collect the sediment (Fig. 1) was modification of a tool designed by Barkley (1971). The sediment collection tube consisted of a 60-cm (2A-in) length of PVC pipe, 5 cm in) in diameter, with the circumference of one end beveled to aid penetration into the sediment. As the collection tube was pushed into the sediment, air and water were displaced upward through the tool stem. When the tube was filled with sediment, a rubber stopper was placed in the top of the tool. As the tool was withdrawn from the bottom, a vacuum was created holding the sediment in the tube. The success or failure of collecting a sediment sample depended upon the tool being completely air tight before removing the sediment from the bottom. Sediments were collected in water depths ranging from 0.5 to 4 m. Beyond a 4-m water depth it was difficult to maintain sufficient vacuum to hold the sediment in the tube. A composite sample consisting of 12 to 16 cores, 15 cm in depth, was collected at each site. The 0to 15-cm depth was obtained by sectioning the sediment core after removal from the collection tube. The sediment core slipped easily from the collection tube after releasing the vacuum. Intact 60-cm cores were retained in extra collection tubes for additional studies to be reported another time. Once collected, the sediments were immediately quickfrozen in dry ice. The frozen sediments were freeze-dried and each sampling site cornposited and ground to 60-mesh (0.25 mm). Preliminary investigations showed it necessary to reduce particle size to 60-mesh to provide a reproducible, homogeneous sample for the adsorption measurements. Preliminary screening through a 1-mm mesh removed fresh, undecomposed organic matter. Grinding may be expected to have an effect on the final particle size distribution in the sand fraction but would not be expected to significantly affect adsorption properties of the sediments. Most of the adsorption would be expected to be associated with the smaller size fractions. The chemical and physical properties of the sediments were determined using methods developed for soils. Organic carbon was determined using a programmed microcombustion apparatus in a pure oxygen atmosphere (Allison, 1965). In this method any sediments containing carbonates were treated with sulfurous acid before determining carbon. Total N was determined by the semimicro-Kjeldahl method (Bremner, 1965). The percent LOI (loss on ignition) was determined using a procedure developed for ash content (Sneddon et al., 1971) in which the sample was ignited 375°C for 16 hours. Cation exchange capacity of the sediment was determined using a modified BaCl2 method (Chapman and Pratt, 1961). J. Environ. Qual., Vol. 9, no. 1, 1980 101 Published January, 1980