A sample from the Great Nile (near Khartoum) has been investigated
by Mössbauer spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, analytical electron
transmission microscopy and X-ray diffraction aiming to evaluate potential
iron-containing sinks for heavy metal adsorption. The phyllosilicate fraction is
dominated by highly-oxidized illite/smectite and the oxide fraction is dominated
by defective goethite and hematite (as evidenced from low ordering
temperatures and line broadening effects).