Can the heavy metal Lead (Pb) dissolve differentially in water (ie flowing stream) vs ice (ie frozen stream)?

Can the heavy metal Lead (Pb) dissolve differentially in water (ie flowing stream) vs ice (ie frozen stream)?We are testing for heavy metals in connection with a public health study (on acute gout). In one study region we found very low levels of lead (Pb) throughout most of the year, but when the streams are starting to freeze in October-November we found:

(1) no Pb in the ice, but
(2) high levels of Pb in the underlying trickle of water.

Is this perhaps because some mineralized lead is now highly concentrated in the small amount of water; versus diluted in the larger volumes of water in summer; versus no lead being taken up in the ice??

Thanks for help on this...

Marc

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Dr J Marc Foggin

U.K.Export
The solubility of Pb (and most other pollutants) falls rapidly with a drop in temperature and is all but removed when the water turns to ice. As a result the Pb which drops out when ice forms is left behind in the trickle water so it registers very high levels which are not found when the stream is fully liquid and and the Pb is dispersed in the much larger quantity of liquid water.

bustersmycat
When water freezes, the dissolved salts are preferentially concentrated in the residual liquid. Simple mass balance considerations require that a significant increase in lead concentration in the residual water will only occur after a very large proportion of the water mass has frozen (to increase lead by an order of magnitude requires freezing 90 % of the water).

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