Contamination Level, Ecological Risk, and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in the Hyporheic Zone of the Weihe River, China

Abstract

The sediment pollution caused by different metals has attracted a great deal of attention because of the toxicity, persistence, and bio-accumulation. This study focuses on heavy metals in the hyporheic sediment of the Weihe River, China. Contamination levels of metals were examined by using “geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor, and contamination factor” while ecological risk of metals were determined by “potential ecological risk and risk index”. The pollutant accumulation of metals ranked as follows: “manganese (Mn) > chromium (Cr) > zinc (Zn) > copper (Cu) > nickel (Ni) > arsenic (As) > lead (Pb)”. The geo-accumulation index identified arsenic as class 1 (uncontaminated to moderate contamination), whereas Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb, and Mn were classified as class 0 (uncontaminated). According to the enrichment factor, arsenic originated through anthropogenic activities and Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb were mainly controlled by natural sources. The contamination factor elucidated that sediments were moderately polluted by (As, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Pb), whereas Ni slightly contaminated the sediments of the Weihe River. All metals posed a low ecological risk in the study area. The risk index revealed that contribution of arsenic (53.43 %) was higher than half of the total risk.

Ecological and Health Risks Assessment of Potentially Toxic Metals and Metalloids Contaminants: A Case Study of Agricultural Soils in Qatar

“…It is worth mentioning that the concentrations of other elements from the same samples, including Al, Co, and Mn, were determined but not reported. Therefore, Mn concentration from the same sample was used as the reference element as most symbolized by Loska [ 26 ] and Ahamad et al (2020) [ 27 ].…”

Potential Ecological and Human Health Risks of Heavy Metals in Soils in Selected Copper Mining Areas—A Case Study: The Bor Area

“…We used Fe as a reference metal in accordance with other studies that used this index to characterize the potential accumulation of anthropogenic metals in soils obtained from the Bor area [ 15 , 19 ]. Soil quality was assigned to one of the following contamination classes: deficiency to minimal enrichment ( EF ≤ 2); moderate enrichment (2 < EF ≤ 5); significant enrichment (5 < EF ≤ 20); very high enrichment (20 < EF ≤ 40); and extremely high enrichment ( EF > 40) [ 20 ].…”

Modelling the Climate Change on Crop Estimation in the Semi-Arid Region of Pakistan Using Multispectral Remote Sensing

“…Food production, both in terms of higher productivity and improved nutrient quality, has not kept pace with the needs of the expanding human population, leading to alarming levels of food insecurity. Extreme weather conditions, such as floods and droughts, associated with climate shifts across the globe are projected to cause even greater adverse effects on the food supply [2].…”

“…Although agriculture has greater role in food security and economy, still the country is unable to realize that is real agricultural production potential as it is much below the production of most countries in the world [2]. There is also an enormous gap between actual crop yield and possible potential crop yield in Pakistan [11].…”

“…Therefore, this is dire need of time to use of science and latest technology in agriculture field. Remote sensing techniques and remotely sensed data is highly reliable to detect and predict the potential yield and effects of different factors on the potential yield [2].…”