Relationships Between Heavy Metals Contamination in Shallow Marine Sediments with Industrial and Urban Development in Catalonia (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea)

Pinedo, Susana; Jordana, Esther; Flagella, Maria Monia; Ballesteros, Enric

doi:10.1007/s11270-014-2084-9

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Pinedo et al (2014) found that coastal metal pollution in surface sediments was closely linked with the presence of urban areas and river mouths in the Mediterranean Sea. Atmospheric deposition of Hg has been strongly correlated with proximity to urban areas in freshwater lakes and streams in the US (Chalmers et al 2014; Van Metre 2012), yet higher Hg loading to a system doesn't necessarily result in increased MeHg bioaccumulation in resident fauna.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methylmercury Bioaccumulation in an Urban Estuary: Delaware River, USA

Buckman

Taylor

Broadley

et al. 2017

Estuaries and Coasts

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Spatial variation in mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation in urban coastal watersheds reflects complex interactions between Hg sources, land use, and environmental gradients. We examined MeHg concentrations in fauna from the Delaware River estuary, and related these measurements to environmental parameters and human impacts on the waterway. The sampling sites followed a north to south gradient of increasing salinity, decreasing urban influence, and increasing marsh cover. Although mean total Hg in surface sediments (top 4cm) peaked in the urban estuarine turbidity maximum and generally decreased downstream, surface sediment MeHg concentrations showed no spatial patterns consistent with the examined environmental gradients, indicating urban influence on Hg loading to the sediment but not subsequent methylation. Surface water particulate MeHg concentration showed a positive correlation with marsh cover whereas dissolved MeHg concentrations were slightly elevated in the estuarine turbidity maximum region. Spatial patterns of MeHg bioaccumulation in resident fauna varied across taxa. Small fish showed increased MeHg concentrations in the more urban/industrial sites upstream, with concentrations generally decreasing farther downstream. Invertebrates either showed no clear spatial patterns in MeHg concentrations (blue crabs, fiddler crabs) or increasing concentrations further downstream (grass shrimp). Best-supported linear mixed models relating tissue concentration to environmental variables reflected these complex patterns, with species specific model results dominated by random site effects with a combination of particulate MeHg and landscape variables influencing bioaccumulation in some species. The data strengthen accumulating evidence that bioaccumulation in estuaries can be decoupled from sediment MeHg concentration, and that drivers of MeHg production and fate may vary within a small region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methylmercury Bioaccumulation in an Urban Estuary: Delaware River, USA

Buckman

Taylor

Broadley

et al. 2017

Estuaries and Coasts

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“…The average contents of PTEs in Xiamen Bay were similar to those in other coastal regions in China and much lower than those in Thessaloniki Bay, Greece. A previous study found that the accumulation of PTEs in sediments was related to the frequency of economic activities [ 54 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Human Activities on the Spatial Distribution, Ecological Risk and Sources of PTEs in Coastal Sediments

Wang

Lin

Wang

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) have attracted substantial attention because of their widespread sources, long residue time and easy accumulation. PTEs in the surface sediments of inshore waters are strongly affected by human activities because these waters are a zone of interaction between the ocean and land. In the present study, to explore the environmental geochemical behaviour and source of PTEs in the surface sediments of coastal waters, the contents and spatial distributions of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) in different regions of Xiamen Bay were investigated. The data were processed by multivariate statistical methods, and the distribution characteristics of PTEs in the surface sediments of Xiamen Bay were analysed. In addition, the pollution load index (PLI), geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and potential ecological index(RI) were used to evaluate the pollution degree and potential risk in the surface sediments of Xiamen Bay, and the positive matrix factorisation (PMF) model was used to analyse the source. The results show that Zn had the highest mean concentration, followed by Pb, Cr, Cu, As, Cd and Hg, among the seven PTEs. The mean contents of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu and Hg, and especially Hg and Cd, were higher than the corresponding environmental background values. The average PLI value indicated that the Xiamen Bay sediment was moderately contaminated by PTEs. The Igeo results showed that Xiamen Bay was moderately to strongly polluted by Cd and Hg. The proportions of samples with low, medium and strong risk levels were 11.63%, 74.42%, and 13.95% in surface sediments, respectively. PMF models showed that the input of chemical fertilizer and medication, anthropogenic atmospheric components and terrestrial detritus were the main sources of PTEs in the surface sediment of Xiamen Bay.

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“…However, most of the trace metal concentrations detected in this study were lower than those of our study, and pollution levels were not identified in several areas where we detected anthropogenic metal enrichments. Pinedo et al [43] found increases between 2003 and 2007 and decreases in 2010.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…These comparisons must be taken with care, as methods and analytical equipment have changed, and the position of the compared samples is different. However, it is evident that this decrease is related to the installation of more efficient water treatment systems and the establishment of new environmental laws that have restricted the use of many pollutants over the last decades, as stated by Pinedo et al [43], who monitored trace metals in shallow sediments (most of them taken between 6 and 12 m depth) along the Catalan coast in 2002, 2003, 2007, and 2010. Although most of these samples were sands with less than 10% of mud, these authors also detected maximum trace metal concentrations in Barcelona and Tarragona.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of Chemical Pollution in Catalan Coastal Sediments

Palanqués

Caixach

Belzunces

et al. 2015

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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In 2000 and from 2006 to 2011, a monitoring program was followed along the Catalan inner shelf, using homogeneous analytical methods and sampling strategies and focusing on the main sites of river sediment accumulation at present. Adjacent areas that are potentially vulnerable to pollution were also selected. Trace metals and organic pollutants were analyzed in surface sediment samples. Mean concentrations in each area show a distribution of organic and inorganic pollutants along the Catalan inner continental shelf. The highest concentrations are located on and around the coast of Barcelona city for most pollutants and locally on the coast of Tarragona city and the Ebre Delta for some of them. The concentrations tend to decrease gradually southward and sharply northward of Barcelona. The trace metal that shows the highest anomalies is Hg (max. enrichment factor, 34), whereas Cd, Zn, Cr, Pb, and Cu show more moderate anomalies. Sediment polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 4-nonylphenols (metabolites of nonylphenol polyethoxylated, nonionic surfactant), polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane are also significant. The time evolution of most trace metals shows a decreasing trend mainly between 2000 and 2006, whereas between 2006 and 2011 trends of trace metals and organic pollutants are not clear, as some of them increased and others decreased and many of them peaked in 2007 and 2009. The greatest decreases in trace metals were in the most polluted areas.

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Relationships Between Heavy Metals Contamination in Shallow Marine Sediments with Industrial and Urban Development in Catalonia (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea)

Cited by 15 publications

References 44 publications

Methylmercury Bioaccumulation in an Urban Estuary: Delaware River, USA

Methylmercury Bioaccumulation in an Urban Estuary: Delaware River, USA

Effects of Human Activities on the Spatial Distribution, Ecological Risk and Sources of PTEs in Coastal Sediments

Evolution of Chemical Pollution in Catalan Coastal Sediments

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