Spatial distribution and pollution evaluation of heavy metals in Yangtze estuary sediment

Ruimin Liu; Cong Men; Yongyan Liu; Wenwen Yu; Fei Xu; Zhenyao Shen

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.05.060

Spatial distribution and pollution evaluation of heavy metals in Yangtze estuary sediment

Mar Pollut Bull. 2016 Sep 15;110(1):564-571. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.05.060. Epub 2016 Jun 3.

Authors

Ruimin Liu¹, Cong Men², Yongyan Liu², Wenwen Yu², Fei Xu², Zhenyao Shen²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: liurm@bnu.edu.cn.
² State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China.

PMID: 27267116
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.05.060

Abstract

To analyze the spatial distribution patterns and ecological risks of heavy metals, 30 sediment samples were taken in the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE) in May 2011. The content of Al, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb increased as follows: inner-region<river mouth<adjacent sea. According to Igeo and RI, As, Cr and Cd were the main pollutants. What is more, the greatest contaminated area appeared at the river mouth of the south branch of YRE. In Tucker 3, considering the fractions of metals, Mn turned to be the severest pollutant and As did not contribute too much to the contamination of the YRE. That was most probably because that Mn was closely related to the carbonate-associated (CARB) and As was related to organic-associated (OM) which is more stable than CARB. The fractions played an important role in the contamination assessment of heavy metals.

Keywords: Ecological risk assessment; Geographic information system; Heavy metals; Spatial distribution; Yangtze River estuary.

MeSH terms

Carbonates / analysis
China
Ecology
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Estuaries*
Geologic Sediments / chemistry*
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Risk Assessment
Rivers / chemistry*
Spatial Analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Carbonates
Metals, Heavy
Water Pollutants, Chemical