Trace metal distribution in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary and the surrounding coastal area, South China

Abstract

In the present study, surface sediments and sediment cores were collected at the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and its surrounding coastal area. The samples were analysed for total metal concentrations, metal concentrations in the five operationally defined chemical fractions, and Pb isotopic compositions. The concentrations of Co, Cr, Pb, and Zn of the sediments in the PRE were about twice of those at the adjacent coastal area, while the Cu concentrations of the PRE sediments were four times higher than the sediments at the coastal area. The distribution of Cu, Cr, Pb, and Zn demonstrated a typical diffusion pattern from the land to the direction of the sea. Two hotspots of trace metal contamination were located at the mixed zone between freshwater and marine waters. The distribution of trace metals in sediments showed that the major sources of metal contaminants were probably from the discharges of sewage and other outlets in the west bank of the estuary. The enrichment of metal in the sediments could be attributed to the deposition of the dissolved and particulate trace metals in the water column at the estuarine area. The similar Pb isotopic signatures of the sediments at the PRE and its surrounding coastal area offered strong evidence that the This is the Pre-Published Version.

Multivariate and geostatistical analyses of the spatial distribution and origin of heavy metals in the agricultural soils in Shunyi, Beijing, China

“…Another threat to the agricultural soils is possibly the intensive agricultural practice such as excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides encouraged by economic interest. A few researches have been conducted so far to determine the concentration and spatial distribution of heavy metals in the soils around cities (Saby et al, 2006;Ip et al, 2007;Shi et al, 2008;Hang et al, 2009). However, studies on the characteristics and sources of heavy metals in agricultural soils nearby big cities are still in need (Liu et al, 2006;Chen et al, 2009).…”

Contamination assessment of arsenic and heavy metals in a typical abandoned estuary wetland—a case study of the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve

“…Simultaneously, these areas also provide habitats for a substantial amount of flora and fauna and often face increasing populations and anthropogenic activities Canuto et al 2013;Rodrigues et al 2013). However, they are often the ultimate receptacles of various anthropogenic pollutants that arise from industrial processes, urbanization, agricultural activities, and domestic waste (Ip et al 2007;Bastami et al 2012;Gan et al 2013). Wetlands have long been recognized as an important sink for heavy metals due to having a variety of physical, chemical, and biological processes that involve sedimentation, setting, adsorption, precipitation, and adsorption, and induced changes in biogeochemical cycles by plants and bacteria (Chandra et al 2013;Jiao et al 2014;Xin et al 2014).…”

Assessment of trace element contamination in sediment cores from the Pearl River and estuary, South China: geochemical and multivariate analysis approaches

“…Zhang et al 2011) sewage sludge of Guangzhou, FS sewage sludge of Foshan (Cai et al 2007), BS sewage sludges of Beijing (Dai et al 2007), CS sewage sludge of Changsha (Yuan et al 2011), MS sewage sludge of China (T. B. Chen et al 2003), GC and GHP sediment from the Pearl River , ER and WR sediments from East River and West River (G. H. Zhou et al 2013), ZE1 (Woods et al 2012) and ZE2 (Ip et al 2007) sediments from Pearl River Estuary. There were no data for Cd in ZE2 UCCEC.…”

“…The PRE has been a hot spot for research in recent decades (Li et al 2000;Liu et al 2003;Ip et al 2007;Zhou et al 2009;Yu et al 2010Yu et al , 2012. Because of the heavy metal toxicity to aquatic and benthonic organisms and the subsequent effects on humans, the geochemical behavior and pollution assessment of heavy metals account for a large fraction of these studies.…”