Source identification and assessment of sediment contamination of trace metals in Kogarah Bay, NSW, Australia

Abstract

The distribution of trace metals (spatial and temporal) and sedimentary fractions were investigated to identify the concentrations and sources of trace metals within Kogarah Bay, NSW, Australia. A total of 59 surface sediments and six subsurface samples from core of the sediment were collected. The contamination factor and pollution load index indices used to evaluate environmental effects of trace metals. The study area was found to be uncontaminated with Cr and Ni, moderately contaminated with As and considerably contaminated with Cu, Zn and Pb. The concentrations of Cr and Ni were below both effect range low and effect range median, while As, Cu, Zn and Pb were slightly above effect range low. The highest concentrations of these trace metals such as Cu, Zn and Pb were found in the north, northwest and southeast of the bay, close to discharge points, stormwater outlets and around boatyards and watercrafts. The spatial distributions of metals were strongly related to muddy particles and organic matter. The temporal sediments of metals declined with increased sediment depth, which reflects accumulation of trace metals since European settlement in this area. Furthermore, the source of the trace metals was found to be stormwater outlets, gasoline fumes, boatyards and other human activities. AbstractThe distribution of trace metals (spatial and temporal) and sedimentary fractions were investigated to identify the concentrations and sources of trace metals within Kogarah Bay, NSW, Australia. A total of 59 surface sediments and six subsurface samples from core of the sediment were collected. The contamination factor and pollution load index indices used to evaluate environmental effects of trace metals. The study area was found to be uncontaminated with Cr and Ni, moderately contaminated with As and considerably contaminated with Cu, Zn and Pb. The concentrations of Cr and Ni were below both Effect Range Low and Effect Range Median, while As, Cu, Zn and Pb were slightly above Effect Range Low. The highest concentrations of these trace metals such as Cu, Zn and Pb were found in the north, north west and south east of the bay, close to discharge points, stormwater outlets and around boatyards and watercrafts. The spatial distributions of metals were strongly related to muddy particles and organic matter. The temporal sediments of metals declined with increased sediment depth, which reflects accumulation of trace metals since European settlement in this area. Furthermore, the source of the trace metals was found to be stormwater outlets, gasoline fumes, boatyards and other human activities.

Assessment of trace metal pollution in sediments and intertidal fauna at the coast of Cameroon

“…Trace metal concentrations in sediment samples have been studied in many areas of the world (Bai et al 2014(Bai et al , 2015Xiao et al 2013Xiao et al , 2015Wang et al 2015), indicating that they are a good marker for environmental monitoring. Sediment samples have been preferred for analysis, because they are known to act as sinks of trace metals and can give more accurate measurements of the pollution levels than water samples (Du Laing et al 2009;Alyazichi et al 2015). In addition, assessing the amount of trace metals in biological samples reveals the potential of their transfer from sediments to food webs.…”

Oceanography and Marine Biology

“…While restoration of the Georges River intertidal foreshore to natural conditions is not achievable due to its highly urbanised state (Alyazichi et al 2015), the foreshore ecoengineering projects outlined previously show how ecological enhancement along a highly urbanised shoreline can be achieved. These ecoengineering projects protect public land from flooding and erosion, improve native biodiversity (Heath & Moody 2013, Strain et al 2018b) and habitat connectivity (Strain et al 2018a), with the potential to restore other ecosystem services (e.g.…”

Geochemical Assessment of Trace Element Pollution in Surface Sediments from the Georges River, Southern Sydney, Australia

“…3d) were collected using a Van Veen grab sampler during summer 2013, and they were combined with 179 samples from previous work ( Fig.1; Pease, 2007, Alyazichi et al, 2015a, Alyazichi et al, 2015b. The surface 5 cm of sediment was reserved for analysis.…”