MIGRATION OF IRON PARTICLES, IONS AND COMPOUNDS DURING LONG-TERM MARINE IMMERSION CORROSION

摘要

Observations of the rust layers found on shipwrecks suggest that during the corrosion process Fe ions were transported away from the corroding surface and were deposited elsewhere. It is hypothesized that bacterial activity is involved in this process. The observed phenomenon appears to occur only as part of relatively long-term immersion corrosion. The hypothesis derives from observations of corroded steel and corrosion products recovered from several very old steel shipwrecks. These observations are described and related to well-documented characteristics of iron-related bacteria. These are discussed in relation to the movement of iron particles, ions and compounds. Reference is also made to the recently discovered magnetotactic bacteria and their possible influence on iron movement.