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Macroinvertebrate communities and sediments as pollution indicators for heavy metals in the river Adige (Italy)
Abstract
Sediments and macrobenthos communities sampled in the tract of the River Adige in the province of Verona and in the main tributaries Fibbio and Alpone are the subject of a study aiming at evaluating contamination by heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni, Co and Fe). Pollutant concentrations were found to be related to sediment grain size composition, organic carbon content of sediments and to macrobenthos community composition. Two samplings, carried out in the low-water periods preceding and following the spring-summer floods, established that such floods had a considerable effect on the river, by causing sediment renewal and mobilizing pollutants that became more available to macrobenthos. Sediments were found to be good pollution indicators, as they accumulate all metals. Macrobenthos preferentially bioaccumulate some metals (Cu, Zn) and help in detecting acute contamination by showing concentrations higher than sediments for some metals (Hg, Cr) in certain stations. On the basis of the relative concentrations determined in the stations, some information was derived on contamination sources: in particular very high concentrations of Cr were found in sediments and macrobenthos due to pollution caused by leather tanning industries, together with a considerable amount of mercury, probably due to paper industries.
... In polluted stream sediments it has been shown that the highest heavy metal concentrations are associated with organic matter (humic and fluvic acids and colloids) and fine-grained sediment fraction (clay, silt and fine sand) (Duzzin et al., 1988;Meili et al., 1991;Tremblay and Lucotte, 1996;Wayne et al., 1996). The Environment Protection Authority (1984) and Duzzin et al. (1988) recorded that heavy metals have a higher affinity for finer sediment particles such as silt, organics and sand which are usually found on the very surface of the sediment bed. ...
... In polluted stream sediments it has been shown that the highest heavy metal concentrations are associated with organic matter (humic and fluvic acids and colloids) and fine-grained sediment fraction (clay, silt and fine sand) (Duzzin et al., 1988;Meili et al., 1991;Tremblay and Lucotte, 1996;Wayne et al., 1996). The Environment Protection Authority (1984) and Duzzin et al. (1988) recorded that heavy metals have a higher affinity for finer sediment particles such as silt, organics and sand which are usually found on the very surface of the sediment bed. Gibbert et al. (1994) and Grondin et al. (1995) also found that this occurred in the bed sediments of the Rhone River and wetland soils in Quebec, respectively. ...
... However, the heavy metal concentrations were below detection limits for each creek in August following sustained high flows throughout June and July. Thorp and Lake (1973) detected a 'pulse' of cadmium and zinc in the South Esk River, Tasmania after flooding and Duzzin et al. (1988) found that flooding caused worse contamination due to the mobilisation of the finegrained sediments. The particulate matter and adsorbed Hg sink to the creek bed and are more easily resuspended during a storm event or periods of flood (Parks et al., 1986;Meili et al., 1991). ...
The mining of gold can lead to toxic metals such as mercury (Hg) contaminating watercourses as by-products. The Reedy Creek sub-catchment, in northeast Victoria, Australia, was mined for gold in the 1850s. In 1998, samples were taken from six watercourses to measure any remaining toxic metal contamination in sediments and surface waters from two creeks with no previous gold mining (controls) and four that were mined. Although mean concentrations of Hg (measured using an ICP-OES) in sediments were below worldwide background levels, individual sites along Reedy Creek had slightly elevated Hg concentrations. In contrast, the Hg concentrations in the surface waters were above background levels. Temporal fluxes of very high Hg concentrations in the surface waters during periods of first flow and flood events revealed that Hg concentrations in the surface waters may, at certain times of the year, exceed all Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (National Water Quality Management Strategy. Australian Water Quality Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Waters, ANZECC, 2000) guidelines for water use and the protection of the aquatic ecosystem.
... Presence of Ni, Cd, Zn and As has been also reported for the upper part of the catchment, while Cr, Pb and Hg have never been detected (Provincia autonoma di Bolzano, 2006). Duzzin et al. (1988) indicated as possible sources for heavy metals (in particular Cr) an important leather production district, tanneries and paper industries in the southern part of the catchment. More recently Fuganti et al. (2005) detected considerable concentration of Cr in water samples (0.4 μg/L). ...
... Bizzotto et al. (2009b), for example, evidenced how they respond very rapidly to concentration changes of chemicals in their host catchments. Specifically, in the Adige river, Duzzin et al. (1988) and Pavoni et al. (1987) highlighted that zoobenthos preferentially bioaccumulate some metals (Cu, Zn) and helped in detecting acute contamination by showing concentrations higher than sediments for some metals (Hg, Cr). On the basis of data provided by the three regional environmental agencies, reports (e.g., Braioni, 2001a) and peer reviewed publications (e.g., Braioni et al., 2002), the ecological status of the Adige river is good. ...
Quantifying the effects of multiple stressors on Alpine freshwater ecosystems is challenging, due to the lack of tailored field campaigns for the contemporaneous measurement of hydrological, chemical and ecological parameters. Conducting exhaustive field campaigns is costly and hence most of the activities so far have been performed addressing specific environmental issues. An accurate analysis of existing information is therefore useful and necessary, to identify stressors that may act in synergy and to design new field campaigns. We present an extended review of available studies and datasets concerning the hydrological, chemical and ecological status of the Adige, which is the second longest river and the third largest river basin in Italy. The most relevant stressors are discussed in the light of the information extracted from a large number of studies. The detailed analysis of these studies identified that hydrological alterations caused by hydropower production are the main source of stress for the freshwater ecosystems in the Adige catchment. However, concurrent effects with other stressors, such as the release of pollutants from waste water treatment plants or from agricultural and industrial activities, have not been explored at depth, so far. A wealth of available studies address a single stressor separately without exploring their concurrent effect. It is concluded that a combination of extended experimental field campaigns, focusing on the coupled effects of multiple stressors, and modeling activities is highly needed in order to quantify the impact of the multifaceted human pressures on freshwater ecosystems in the Adige river.
Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.
... On the contrary, the positive correlation observed between humic compounds and % fine grain size shows that humic compounds, as strong scavengers of metals, play a key role in the enrichment of zinc and copper in surface sediments of Mar Piccolo. In fact, a high linear positive correlation exists between HA and copper (R 2 ¼ 0.87) and between HA and zinc (R 2 ¼ 0.88), according to the results reported in previous papers (Rubinstein, Lores, and Gregory 1983;Duzzin, Pavoni, and Donazzolo 1988;Martincic, Kwokal, and Branica 1990;Belzunce et al. 2001). A recent study by Rasmussen et al. (1998) indicates that the amount of organic matter strongly influences Hg concentration profiles in sediments from the Arctic Ocean basin. ...
... A recent study by Rasmussen et al. (1998) indicates that the amount of organic matter strongly influences Hg concentration profiles in sediments from the Arctic Ocean basin. A correlation between metal concentration and organic matter in the sediments has been shown by several researchers (Rubinstein, Lores, and Gregory 1983;Duzzin, Pavoni, and Donazzolo 1988;Martincic, Kwokal, and Branica 1990). Therefore, the results obtained for Mar Piccolo suggest the high affinity of Cu, Zn and Pb to HA and FA (Siegel 1971), even if for lead the enrichment in surface sediments is probably not due to HA compounds only. ...
The spatial distribution of selected metals (Fe, Ni, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Hg and Cd) and their partition in the different chemical forms (speciation) were determined in benthic sediments from Mar Piccolo, Taranto (Ionic Sea, southern Italy). The aim of this study was to assess the degree of sediment contamination and bioavailability of metals, very important for Italian mussel culture, in a semi-enclosed marine ecosystem. In sediments, grain size distribution, total organic carbon (TOC), and humic (HA) and fulvic (FA) acids contents were also determined. The compounds TOC, HA and FA, in fact, have a great influence on metal complexation. High concentrations of copper, lead, zinc and mercury were found, especially in sediments of the first inlet of Mar Piccolo. Statistical analysis of results shows significant correlation among Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations and the influence of organic matter on the sediment distribution of Cu, Pb and Zn. Metal speciation analysis, carried out with sequential extraction method, shows that Fe and Ni are present in sediments mainly as sulphides. Mn and Pb are present principally in an ion-exchangeable form or bound to carbonate and Cu is associated to organic matter. Metal pollution index (MPI), calculated as a weighed mean of the metal contamination factors in each station, shows that with regard to Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, some stations investigated are unpolluted (MPI
... Sediments have been widely used as environmental indicators and their ability to trace contamination sources and monitor contaminants is largely recognised. They play an important role in the assessment of metal contamination in natural waters (Duzzin et al., 1988;Lietz and Galling, 1989;Jha et al., 1990;Pardo et al., 1990;GoncË alves et al., 1992GoncË alves et al., , 1994Huang et al., 1994;Lapaquellerie et al., 1995;Borovec, 1996;Wardas et al., 1996). Indeed sediments show a high capacity to accumulate and integrate on time the low concentrations of trace elements in water and, therefore, they allow the determination of metals even when the levels in water are extremely low and undetectable with current methods of analysis. ...
... Heavy metals resulting from anthropogenic contamination are either associated with organic matter present in the thin fraction of the sediments, or adsorbed on Fe/Mn hydrous oxides, or precipitated as hydroxides, sulphides and carbonates (FoÈ rstner, 1985). The correlation between the metal concentration and the organic matter content in the sediments has been shown by various research teams (Suzuki et al., 1979;Rubinstein et al., 1983;Duzzin et al., 1988;Martincic et al., 1990). Although most adsorbed pollutants on the sediments are not readily available for aquatic organisms, the variation of some physical and chemical characteristics (pH, salinity, redox potential and the content of organic chelators) of the overlying water may provoke the release of the metals back to the aqueous phase, hence under changing environmental conditions sediments may become themselves important pollution sources. ...
The concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) were determined in river sediments collected at the Ave river basin (Portugal) to obtain a general classification scenery of the pollution in this highly polluted region. Multivariate data analysis techniques of clustering, principal components and eigenvector projections were used in this classification. Five general areas with different polluting characteristics were detected and several individual heavy metal concentration abnormalities were detected in restricted areas. A good correlation between the overall metal contamination determined by multivariate analysis and metal pollution indexes for all sampling stations was obtained. Some preliminary experiments showed that the metal concentrations normalised to the volatile matter content in the sediment fraction with grain size <63 microm seems to be an adequate method for assessing metal pollution.
... Sinha et al. (2007) reported a pattern of mercury in Varanasi's Ganga River ecosystem as: water < sediment < benthic macro-invertebrates < fish. Mercury bonds were also stated by (Duzzin et al.,1988 andLindqvist, 1991) in the order: water < fish < sediment < large aquatic invertebrates with increasing affinity. ...
... The variations in the chemical composition of sediments can be explained in relation to factors such as origin of sediments, mineralogy, diagenesis, sorting and grain size by evaluating the major elements' associations and ratios (Huisman 1998;Yalcin et al. 2019a;Yalcin 2020). Fine grain beach sand can be chemically altered during its transport from the origin and/or by anthropogenic activities as it usually entraps or scavenges heavy metals (Duzzin et al. 1988, Tumuklu et al. 2008Suttill 2009;Yalcin 2009, Yalcin et al. 2016a, 2016bOliveira et al. 2018Yalcin et al. 2019b). There are cases in which the chemical content of certain elements in sediments has been significantly altered by anthropogenic activities such as industrial activities and waste dumping (Yalcin et al. 2019a). ...
This study investigates chemical properties, the statistical variation in elements, paleo-environmental properties and accumulation, density maps, degree of weathering and the classification of the beach sand. Forty-seven samples were collected along the sampled beach sand. Chemical analysis was done on fine grains of all 47 beach sand samples and coarse grains of 19 selected rock samples by X-ray fluorescence analysis. CaO, SiO2 and MgO were the most abundant major elements in the samples. CaO and MgO show high concentrations in the northern section of the study area, while SiO2 is more prevalent in the southern section of the study area. Relatively higher concentrations of CaO, Al2O3, Fe2O3, TiO2, K2O, P2O5 and SO3 were observed in the fine grains, due to their susceptibility to weathering, while relatively higher SiO2 and MgO were observed in the coarse grains due to their resistance to weathering. Calcite and dolomite are major sources for the high concentrations of Ca and Mg, especially in the northern sections of the study area, while augite, clinoenstatite, ankerite, clinopyroxene, cordierite, magnetite are likely sources of Si, Mg and Fe. The beach sand indicated a mixture of high-CaO source type and high-SiO2 source type, with the high-CaO type dominating. Investigations revealed the sand as marine carbonaceous to carbonaceous ferrites with magnesium association, deposited in an oxic environment where the marine skeleton could not be preserved due to high aerobic activity, and not far from their carbonate (neritic) parent source. The high-SiO2 resulted from the Tekirova ophiolite in the region.
... In fact, due to its importance and the presence of both natural and anthropic features in its catchments, it has been one of the most important areas for studying macroinvertebrate assemblages since a long time ago [21]. The first ecological studies [22,23] found that macrobenthic fauna accumulated pollutants from surrounding industries and other human activities. More recently, Giulivo et al. [24] analyzed the structural response of the macrobenthic community of Adige river to seasonality and environmental stressors. ...
Since the publication of the River Continuum Concept (RCC), the capacity of the longitudinal dimension to predict the distribution of species and ecological functions in river networks was discussed by different river theories. The taxonomic structures and functional attributes of macrobenthic communities were investigated along the river continuum in the river Adige network (Northern Italy), with the aim to test the reliability of RCC theory and clarify the relation between structural and functional features in lotic systems. Distance from the spring was found to be most representative proxy among environmental parameters. The analysis highlighted the decrease of biodiversity levels along the river continuum. The decrease of taxonomic diversity corresponded to the loss in functional richness. The abundances of predator and walker taxa, as well as semelparous organisms, declined along the longitudinal gradient, suggesting variations in community complexity and granulometry. Regression models also depicted the presence of disturbed communities in the central section of the basin, where intensive agricultural activities occur, that affected environmental gradients. Overall, results offered evidences that the river continuum may predict macrobenthic community structures in terms of taxonomic diversity, thus confirming the general validity of RCC. Nonetheless, the functional analysis did not provide equally clear evidences to support the theory. After four decades from its postulation, the RCC is still a reliable model to predict the general macroinvertebrates distribution. However, community functions may respond to a number of local factors not considered in RCC, which could find a declination in other theories. The relations between structural and functional features confirmed to be complex and sensitive to disturbances and local conditions.
... On the other hand, human actions such as domestic and industrial waste disposal, emission from industrial plants and automobiles, use of chemicals, and tilling in agricultural and mining activities are able to influence their concentration and distribution. Regardless of which process leads their accumulation in the environment, hazardous elements are known to be stable and persistent environmental contaminants of soil, coastal sediments, and waters, as they are capable of developing stable complexes together with the 1 3 438 Page 2 of 28 sediment organic matter, carbonates, and iron (Fe)-manganese (Mn) oxides (Yalcin et al. 2016a;Duzzin et al. 1988;Rajendran et al. 1992;Dutta et al. 2017;Gredilla et al. 2017;De Vallejuelo et al. 2017;Agudelo-Castañeda et al. 2017). According to Karbassi et al. (2008), in the absorbed organic, carbonate, and sulfide bonds, the metals correlate highly to pollution and greater risk of bioavailability. ...
This study was carried out on the Iskenderun Gulf in Turkey to assess the hazardous element pollution level of sediments and potential risk level which they pose to the environment. Their hazardous element content was inspected using five statistical parameters, mineralogical studies; and six risk indices. Similarity of sample content is divided into five groups C1–C5. C1 had anomalous concentrations of Cr, Zn, and V; C2 had anomalous concentrations Mn, Zn, Cu, and Pb; C3 showed very high Cr concentration; C4 indicated anomalous Cr and V concentrations; and no anomaly is observed for C5 samples. Ni and Mn show a distinct disparity and Cr shows a wide disparity in variance to the other elements. Principal component analysis reveals most of Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd, and majority of Mn and Fe are thought to have come from a geogenic source. Most of Ni, Co, and Mg along with majority of Sr, As, and Al are thought to have come from both geogenic and anthropogenic sources, while most of V and majority of Cr are thought to arise from anthropogenic sources. The Gulf thought to possess very high concentrations of Cr, Ni, and Co in most samples. No significant ecological risk is posed by samples BC-(35, 43, and 51), though anomalous concentrations are observed in the samples. On the other hand, samples BC-(16, 19–21, 25–28, 30, 37 and 38) pose moderate ecological risk, yet they possess no anomalous concentration. BC-(9, 10, 17, 18, 24, 32, 33, 53, 54, and 60) were observed to be of significant ecological risk. Cr is enriched in most of these samples with contaminated Geoaccumulation levels except in BC-(32 and 33) that are enriched with contaminated Geoaccumulation levels as BC 32 (Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, and Mn) and BC 33 (Mn). Overall, pollution load index indicated that PLI > 1 for 34 samples are polluted with BC-32 (PLI = 6.98) being the most polluted sample, located around the industrial zone, and followed by samples 53, 54, 33, 24, and 60 with PLI (1.94–2.5).
... Recently, Fuganti et al. (2005) detected considerable concentration of Cr (0.4 µg/L) and As (up to 56 µg/L) [55]. Presence of heavy metals in Adage estuary surface water was linked to an important leather production district, tanneries and paper industries in the southern part of the catchment [56]. High values of As were linked to natural sources, since they were found in water that leaches volcanic rocks [55]. ...
This paper deals with the surface water quality of a small catchment area of the Karašica and Vučica rivers based on the analysis of water physical and chemical parameters according to the national Decree on Water Quality Standards (2013). Water samples were collected and analysed monthly at five sampling stations situated along the watercourses in the period between 1998 and 2015. Analysed parameters were pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD-Mn), five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), nutrients: nitrate compounds (nitrates and total nitrogen), phosphorus compounds (orthophosphates and total phosphorus), and the content of heavy metals. The obtained results indicate a water quality status between moderate and good, depending on the parameter and sampling station.
Keywords: small catchment area; water quality; nutrients; COD-Mn; BOD5; heavy metals
... Moreover, dilution of these effects at outer harbor in contact with coastal seawater of Bay of Bengal by mean of tidal flushing. Duzzin, et al, 1988, sampled sediments and macrobenthos communities to show as pollution indicators for heavy metals in the river Adige (Italy). Macrobenthos preferentially bioaccumulate some metals (Cu, Zn). ...
Sediment serves as a reservoir for heavy metals and therefore, deserves special consideration in the planning and design of aquatic pollution research studies. An undisturbed sediment column contains a historical record of geo chemical characteristi cs. It will allow an investigator to evaluate geo chemical changes over time, and possibly, to establish baseline levels against which current conditions can be compared and contrasted. Metals may be mobilized as a result of natural processes (e.g., weathering and erosion of geo chemical formations) as well as by anthropogenic activity. In the mobilization process, trace elements may be absorbed by days, can complex with organic compounds or may co-precipitate with oxide and hydroxides. Indeed sediment shows a high capacity to accumulate and integrate on time.
... Sediments act as traps for most heavy metals by forming stable complexes with sediment organic matter, carbonates, and iron (Fe) − manganese (Mn) oxides [9], [19]. Interestingly, these metal fractions may have different characteristics in terms of mobility, toxicity, and chemical behaviour patterns; therefore, knowledge of various geochemical forms of metals is highly essential to assess the extent of contamination and the fate of metals in the aquatic system [20]. ...
The distribution of heavy metal concentrations in the beach sand samples collected from 44 different locations along the Manavgat Alanya coastline of Antalya covering different coastal sandy beaches was studied. The average concentration level of these metals in the beach sand was calculated and compared to those of the Earth Crust, Sandstone, Ultrabasic Rock and the acceptable limit for Turkey in order to determine their anomalies. Heavy metal (Cr, Zn, Ni, As, Cu, Pb, Co, Mo, Sb and Cd; along with Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, K, Ba, Ca and W) were determined. The elements occurred in abundance as Ca>Na>Mg>Fe>Al>K>Ti>Mn>Cr>Ba>V>Zn>Ni>As>Cu>Pb>Co>Mo>Sb>W>Cd. The sufficiency of the number of samples used from the study area is revealed by the high explanatory power R2 = 96.9% of the ANOVA Model. Using the box plot, it was also noted that some heavy metals such as As (in samples 1, 19, 25, 28 and 29); Mn (in Samples 23 and 39); Na (in samples 23, 24 and 45); Cr (in Sample 33) and Ti (in Sample 15) had very high anomalies. Heavy metal contents show high anomaly concentrations when compared to some background values (Earth Crust, Sandstone, Ultrabasic and Turkey acceptable limit).
... They can either be introduced into the environment naturally (by chemical leaching of bedrocks, water drainage basins, and runoff from banks) and/or from anthropogenic sources (mining operations, disposal of industrial wastes, applications of biocides for pests, automobile exhausts, and combustion by-production from coal-burning power plants [6][7][8][9][10]. Most heavy metals introduced in the environment are usually known to be trapped in sediments by forming stable complexes with sediment organic matter, carbonates, and iron (Fe) -manganese (Mn) oxides [11,12]. Human beings can easily be affected by heavy metals through body contact, inhalation of heavy metal-polluted dust, and intake of food [8,13,14]. ...
This research was carried out along the banks of the Bogacayi River in the western part of Antalya in Turkey. We investigated the concentration, average distribution, and level of contamination of the sediments by heavy metals for monitoring purposes. In this study, 25 sediment samples from different stations were collected and analyzed along the Bogacayi's banks. Heavy metals detected in order of abundance are Mg> Fe > Al > Ti> MN > Cr > Ni > Ba > V > Zr > Zn > Co > Cu > Pb > As > Mo > W > Cd > Sb > Ag. The average concentration of each heavy metal elements was compared to those of the earth crust, sandstone, ultrabasic rock, especially with the acceptable limit for Turkey, in order to determine their anomalies. The concentration of Cr in sample 24 was 19.85 times and Ni in sample 25 was 19.29-7.71 times higher than the acceptable limit for Turkey. In samples 24 (1.87 times) and 25 (1.85 times), Co was also higher than the acceptable limit for Turkey. As confirmed by the coefficient correlation analysis, the PCA, anthropogenic activities is thought to have possibly contributed most of the Sb, Mo, and Pb, and led to an increase in the quantities of elements such as: Fe, V, Mn, Co, Ni, Mg, Cr, and As. Most of the Al, Ti, Zr, Zn, W, Ba, and Cu, and a majority of the Fe, V, Mn, and Sn, potentially resulted from a natural source. Samples 24 (Zn, Co, Mn, Fe, V, Cr, Mg, and Ba) and 25 (Ni, Co, Fe, and Mg) contain several numbers of heavy metals, each showing high anomalous concentrations, which are related to anthropogenic sources. The ANOVA model summary reveals the high explanatory power of R 2 = 100.00%, indicating that the number of samples used in this study was sufficient.
... Mercury in the Ganga River ecosystem at Varanasi followed a trend of: water < sediment < benthic macro-invertebrates < fish (Figure 4 a). Duzzin et al. 32 have also reported mercury bonds in the order: water < fish < sediment < large aquatic invertebrates of increasing affinity. The bio-concentration factors (ratio between concentration of mercury in biota and that in water) in sediment, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish in the present study have been calculated as 3 × 10 2 , 5 × 10 2 and 1 × 10 4 , and show successive accumulation and magnification in the bio-physical environment of the river. ...
The present study assesses mercury pollution in the Ganga River system at Varanasi. Concentration and accumulation of mercury in the river system, including water, sediment, benthic macroinvertebrates, fish, aquatic macrophytes of the Ganga River, and soil and vegetation of the associated floodplains were worked out in Winter, Summer and Post-monsoon seasons of the year 2001 during the study.
... Sediments have been widely used as environmental indicators since they can easily be used to trace contamination sources and to monitor pollutants. They play an important role in the assessment of metal contamination in natural waters (Borovec, 1996, Duzzin et al., 1988, Gonçalves and Boaventura, 1991Huang et al., 1994;Jha et al., 1990;Lietz and Galling, 1989;Pardo et al., 1990;Wardas et al., 1996). Indeed, sediments reveal a high propensity to accumulate, register and eventually integrate through time trace element presence in water. ...
... Mercury in the Ganga River ecosystem at Varanasi followed a trend of: water < sediment < benthic macro-invertebrates < fish (Figure 4 a). Duzzin et al. 32 have also reported mercury bonds in the order: water < fish < sediment < large aquatic invertebrates of increasing affinity. The bio-concentration factors (ratio between concentration of mercury in biota and that in water) in sediment, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish in the present study have been calculated as 3 × 10 2 , 5 × 10 2 and 1 × 10 4 , and show successive accumulation and magnification in the bio-physical environment of the river. ...
The study explains water quality of three important tributaries of the Ganga River in the middle Gangetic plains in India. Seasonal changes in the water quality of the studied rivers: Gandak, Ghaghra, and Sone were observed. During monsoon, several water quality parameters show considerable changes due to increased runoff from the catchments and other seasonal factors. Multivariate discriminant analysis delineated a few parameters responsible for temporal variation in water quality. Seasonal variation in water quality of the Gandak River was rendered by seven parameters-turbidity, sulfate, pH, phosphate, water temperature, total alkalinity, and sodium, while total alkalinity and water temperature were responsible for seasonal discrimination in water quality of Ghaghra River. Water temperature, turbidity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, calcium, and phosphate were important for seasonal discrimination in water quality of Sone River. The seasonal changes in water quality of the rivers were due to seasonal effects and catchment characteristics. The discriminant functions classified most of the cases correctly.
... We also found the total contents of As, Cd, and Pb, very highly positively correlated with total Fe ( p<0.01), but total content of Ni significantly negatively correlated with total Fe ( p<0.05) ( Table 6). Under the Digested by HNO 3 -HCl-HF procedure and observed range reported by Hsu and Liu; [27] N ¼ 30. 3 Total amount summated by various extraction fractions and arithmetic mean reported by Yu et al.; [28] N ¼ 72. 4 Digested by HNO 3 -HCl-HF procedure and arithmetic mean reported by Awadallah et al.; [5] N ¼ 21. 5 Extracted by 8 N HNO 3 and arithmetic mean reported by Duzzin et al.; [29] N ¼ 12. 6 Digested by HNO 3 -HClO 4 -HF procedure and arithmetic mean reported by Horowitz et al.; [26] N (Louisiana) ranged in 29- better-aerated environment, metals in the sediments would co-precipitate with Fe oxides during their formation, such as existing as structural components of Fe oxides. But in the less aerated environment, Fe was reduced as ferrous iron and mobilized from the soil or sediment into the aquatic environment. ...
Freshwater sediments and water samples were quarterly collected at different sampling stations from August 1996 to April 1998 in the Fei-Tsui reservoir watershed (FTRW) of northern Taiwan. The sediment and soil samples were digested using mixture of inorganic acids to analyze the total concentration of ten metals. The baseline concentrations of ten metals in the sediments of FTRW were calculated from the geometric mean (GM) values and the geometric standard deviation (GSD). The baseline concentrations of 10 metals in the 239 sediments of this watershed are listed as followings (mg/kg, only % for Fe): As 1.80-51.5, Cd 0.04-7.54, Cr 5.25-273, Cu 2.65-91.7, Hg 0.03-0.26, Mn 18.6-2310, Ni 3.95-167, Pb 1.10-75.4, Zn 6.46-327, and Fe 0.47-9.63%. However, the GMs of 10 metal concentrations in the sediments were lower than the regulated threshold concentrations in Taiwan rural soils. Highly correlations among different metals in the sediments of FTRW indicate that very similar sediments of formation process control the metal content associated with the parent materials. Inadequate land use results in As, Cr, Mn, and Ni accumulated in the sediment to show potentially contamination risk in the study area associated with accelerated erosion and runoff.
Concentrations of heavy metals in sediments of pars special economic energy zone
Background: Persian Gulf is one of the most important ecosystems in the world that in recent decades has been exposed to various environmental pollutants such as heavy metals from human and natural activities. Therefore, the aim of this study investigates the concentration of heavy metals (cadmium, lead, copper and zinc) and ecological risk assessment of them in coastal sediments in of Bushehr province in Persian Gulf. Methods: In order to assess the concentration of metals, 54 stations along the coastal zones were selected and in each station three samples of sediment and plant were taken. After preparation and digestion of the samples, the concentrations of these metals were determined by using polarography. Results: The average of total concentration of detected metals Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd in sediment 52.40 ± 2. 62, 34.99±2.76, 11.53 ±2.01 and 2.41± 0.89 μg/g, respectively. Also, the results of comparison of heavy metals concentration in coastal areas in Bushehr Province (Jam, Deir, Bushehr, Dashti, Genaveh and Deilam) with ANOVA test showed there was a significant difference between the concentrations of sediments in different coastal areas. The results showed that the Pollution Load Index (PLI) and ecological risk represents less to moderately pollution in the region. Also, the environmental risk of metals in the region was evaluated as (Cd>Cu> Pb> Zn). Conclusion: According to the results, the pollution and ecological risk of metals in the region for Zn, Cu and Pb is low but for Cd is moderateevaluated
Background:
Today, heavy metals pollution in aquatic ecosystems is one of the most important global
environmental problems. Because this metals have characteristics such as chemical stability, low
degradability and bioaccumulation ability at different levels of the food chain cause the abundant
ecological risks for organisms. Therefore, this study investigates the concentration of heavy metals
(mercury, cadmium,lead, chromium, copper, nickel, zinc and iron) and ecological risk assessment of
them in coastal sediments in the Special Economic Energy Zone - South Pars.
Materials and Methods:
In order to assess the concentration of metals, 16 stations along the coast was selected and three
samples were taken at each station. After preparation and digestion of the samples, the
concentrations of these metals were determined by using Polarography.
Results:
The results showed that the average total concentration of metals in sediment were (Fe > Zn> Cu
>Ni> Cr > Pb > Cd > Hg), to amount (56.065 ± 2.04 > 45.91±12.035 > 28.58 ± 1.77 > 18.96 ± 0.84 >
8.59±0.47> 0.016±0.03> 0.07+0.447 mg/kg) respectively. In addition, evaluation indicators of the
environment such as; Geo accumulation index (Igeo), Contamination factor (CF), Pollution Load Index
(PLI) represents less pollution and partly average in the region. Also the investigation ecological risk
and environmental risk of heavy metals showed the risk was alike with (Cd >Cu> Pb> Ni> Zn> Cr> Hg)
respectively.
Conclusion:
According to the results, it can be concluded that pollution in the region for Hg, Zn, Cr, Pb and Ni were
low and moderate for Cd and Cu. High concentrations of cadmium in comparison with the
corresponding amount in the crust of the Earth, along with high levels of pollution factor, pollution
modified for Cd, Cu implies the effects of human activities on pollution and accumulation of these
heavy metals in sediments. Based on the calculation of the ecological risk index of metals we can
expressed that among the measured elements, sediments in terms of Cadmium are in moderate
ecological risk.
A rapid urbanization and industrialization enhances the significant heavy metal pollution in the sediments of coastal area and introduced a serious threat to the human health. In the present study, concentration of heavy metals such as Al, Ti, Fe, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Zn, La, Pb, Mg, Ca, Ni, Cd and Ba are determined in sediments along Periyakalapet to Parangaipettai coastal area, Tamilnadu using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (EDXRF).These metals have more affinity to establish metallic bond with ferrous material leading to enhancement of sediment magnetic susceptibility. Hence, a magnetic susceptibility (χLF, χHF, χFD) measurement was carried for sediments by using MS2B dual frequency susceptibility meter. Multivariate statistical analysis (Pearson correlation, factor and cluster analysis) was carried out between heavy metals and magnetic susceptibility to assess the anthropogenic impact in the sediments. The study revealed that a magnetic susceptibility measurement is an inexpensive, fast, non-destructive and suitable method to identify the heavy metal pollution sources.
In Tuticorin (Thoothukudi), salt is being produced by solar evaporation of brine in ponds. Its industrial environment warrants a heavy metal pollution potential assessment. During the process of solar evaporation, brine is conveyed through reservoir and condenser, to crystallize salt in crystallizer ponds and eventually exit as bittern. In this process, it deposits heavy metals on the pond floors which in turn may adhere to the crystallized salt. Thus, heavy metal quantification and path analysis becomes imperative in terms of pollution potential. The enrichment of heavy metals in salt pan sediments and salt potentials biological risk for the salt pan ecosystem and the consumers of salt. Hence heavy metal distribution was estimated in 16 samples from different pond floors of four salt pans viz. Spic Nagar, Tharuvaikulam, Veppalodai and Roche Park and the description and discussion of the same are presented here. Fe (31.41), Ni (21.76), Pb (15.97), Cu (6.63), Zn (5.07) and Cd (3.27) are the heavy metals observed (with respective average concentrations in mg/kg). In this study, its levels are estimated stage wise, so as to infer it's loading onto the salt produced. These heavy metal pollutants can be traced to effluents of nearby industries and the domestic dumps. Heavy metal presence in the sediments, signals toxicity for the salt consumers.
Geochemical analyses are used to assess how the sediment records reflect the environmental changes of the Jiaozhou Bay. In the Last one hundred years, especially the last two decades, the Jiaozhou Bay has been greatly impacted by the increase of industrial activities and human interventions. A dated core sediment by 210Pb chronology was analyzed for concentrations of trace metals such as Li, Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Ni, Co, Zn together with C, N, P and BSi. Moreover, the burial fluxes of biogenic elements combined with the sedimentation rates were also calculated. The results showed that the development of the Jiaozhou Bay environment in the last one hundred years can be divided into three stages: (1) before the 1980s characterized by the relatively low sedimentation rate, weak heavy metal pollution and scarce eutrophication; (2) from the 1980s to 2000 or so, accelerating in the 1990s, during which high sedimentation rates, heavily polluted by heavy metals and biogenic elements as well as the frequent occurrence of red tide; (3) after 2000, the period that the improvement of environment, the whole system has been meliorated including the heavy metal pollution and hypernutriention.
The concentration and distribution of selected metals were studied in the bed sediments of Subarnarekha River to assess the spatial and temporal variations and to determine the extent of anthropogenic inputs into the river. Bed sediments were collected from 21 locations for post-monsoon, pre-monsoon, and monsoon seasons. After acid digestion, they were analyzed for metals using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer and assessed with index of geoaccumulation (I
geo), enrichment factor (EF) value, concentration factor (CF), and pollution load index (PLI). Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to better comprehend the controlling factors of sediment quality. Considering all the seasons, the average concentrations of Fe, Cu, Cr, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn, Co, and Ba in mg kg−1 was found to be 27,828 ± 12,772, 71 ± 59, 105 ± 78, 76 ± 62, 770 ± 489, 45 ± 28, 105 ± 47, 15 ± 6, and 738 ± 443, respectively. The I
geo, EF, CF, and PLI indices showed that the contamination of Pb and Cu was more serious than that of Ni, Zn, Co, and Ba whereas the presence of Fe, Mn, and Cr might be primarily from natural sources. The metal concentrations were in general higher in the pre-monsoon season; however, some of the metals were observed to be higher in the monsoon season. PCA outcome of three factors explained that 82.7 % of variance indicated both innate and human activities as contributing factors of metal profusion in Subarnarekha River. The overall study reveals moderately serious contamination of the sediments with metals in the Subarnarekha River predominantly in some locations under the anthropogenic influences like mining and industries.
As a result of rapid economic development and urbanization, water pollution and degradation of aquatic ecosystems have caused massive damage to the functions and integrity of water resources. The Hakanson potential ecological risk index method for heavy metals toxicity assessment have been used to estimate the ecological risk of Heavy Metals Pollution in Sediments of Beijiang River. The results shows that the average concentration of Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cd, Cr, Hg in sediments is 59.72, 111.29, 218.93, 15.52, 5.70, 5.70 mg/kg, 0.32ug/kg respectively. The content of Hakanson potential ecological risk index of different heavy metals could be shown as Cd> Pb> Cu> Zn> Ni> Cr> Hg. Heavy metals in several samples of the sediments have posed a serious threat on the ecosystem.
The Gavkhuni playa lake consists of sand, mud, and salt flats. The salt pan covers extensive part of the playa. Its color is usually clear and white, but black, pink and green colors also occur. The black color of halite has been caused by impurities of detrital sediments. The sand detrital sediments have been derived from the aeolian sands located in the west of the playa lake. The pink to light red color of the halite is due to the existence of iron oxides or/and microbial effects. There are potentials for natural concentrations of heavy metals in the evaporite sediments of this lake especially due to the occurrence of sedimentary Pb/Zn ore deposits in its drainage basin. To study the concentration of the heavy metals in the salt pan, 18 samples were taken from the salt pan and analyzed. The results show that average concentrations (ppm) of the heavy metals in the salt pan are Ni (56.46), Sr (26.46), Pb (11.42), Ag (10.70), Mn (6.15), Co (2.86), Cd (1.98), Zn (1.48) and Cu (1.14) in their order abundances. The amounts of Zn, Mn, Sr, Cu, Cd and Pb are relatively high in samples containing calcium minerals. The concentrations of Mn and Cu in the pink and green salts are relatively higher than the white ones, because these metals tend to be adsorbed by organic matter. Manganese oxides are important factors influencing the Ni concentration in the sediments. The Mn and Sr concentrations increase in the samples containing iron silicate minerals and carbonate grains. The Co and Ni concentrations are high in the samples containing Fe/Mg-bearing clastic grains. The Ag concentration is high in the samples containing sulfide minerals. Strong adsorption of Mn2+, Co2+ and Zn2+ to clay minerals and precipitation of Cu as Cu°, Cu2S, CuS and Pb as PbCO3 and PbS in the mud sediments can be the reasons for the lower concentrations of these elements in the pure salt sediments than the mud deposits. Enrichment factor indicates that Ag is moderately enriched and other elements are weakly enriched in the evaporite deposits.
Bharalu Tributary originates in the foot-hills of Khasi Hills and meets the Brahmaputra River flowing northwards through Guwahati city. Trace metals viz., Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Cu and Zn were estimated in the bed sediment of Bharalu and their concentrations were found to be 39.54 ± 31, 40.62 ± 19, 32.00 ± 18, 0.93 ± 1, 65.45 ± 33 and 435.08 ± 246 μg g-1 respectively. Levels of Cd, Pb and Zn in the bed sediments were 3, 1.5 and 5 times, respectively, higher than the concentrations in shale. Enrichment factors (EF%) of the metals showed substantial loading of the sediments with trace metals. Muller's Geoaccumulation index (Igeo) of the metals was calculated which showed that the river was moderate to strongly polluted. Pearson's correlation showed stronger associations for the metal pairs-Pb-Cd (r = 0.90), Ni-Cu (r = 0.68), Ni-Zn (r = 0.61), Cu-Zn (r = 0.87) and Pb-Cu (r = 0.75)-indicating similar sources. A multivariate statistical tool, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), was used to define the possible input sources of the trace metals and three main sources viz. industrial discharge, vehicular contribution and waste dumping were identified.
Soil pollution and food safety issues are major challenges for discussion in Asia resulting from previous industrial development without suitable regulations. Over the years, a nationwide comprehensive survey to understand the distribution of heavy metal contaminated soil was conducted in many Asian countries. Included in this survey are descriptions of Taiwan's experiences and related databases. Rice is the staple food in many Asian countries. Many paddy soils were contaminated by illegal discharges of wastewater from local factories. Results from field studies in Taiwan showed that rice variety and soil Cd concentration are major factors affecting edible rice safety. The Indica type rice absorbed more Cd from contaminated soil than Japonica type. The most contaminated were brown rice and polished rice when the soil Cd concentration extracted by HCl was higher than 2 mg/kg. No relationship could be found between soil Cd and brown rice Cd. The Cu and Zn concentrations in brown rice were in a fixed range under a wide range of soil Cu and Zn. These relationships coincides the plateau theory. The concentration of Cu and Zn in rice is not proportional to its concentration in the soil. When the total Cr and Ni concentration of rural soils reached 250 and 600 mg/kg, rice yield will decrease. But the Cr and Ni concentration in polished rice were less than 4 and 14 mg/kg, respectively. In paddy soil and rice uptake system, Pb solubility and mobility is very low, however rice yield will decrease by 20% as soil total Pb approached 2,000 mg/kg. When the total As concentration of rural soil reached 60 mg/kg, rice production will be significantly reduced. To explain the relationship between heavy metal concentration in soil and plants, six hypotheses (i.e., single-metal abrupt toxicity threshold, soil-plant barrier, clean sludge concept, uptake plateau concept, aging effect, and absence of evidence) were proposed from previous research findings. The regulations of heavy metal in contaminated soils, the main reasons of the development of legislations, and the strategies for monitoring and remedial actions in USA, UK, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, China, and Taiwan were also compared in this article. Finally, concerning the high toxicity and mobility of Cd, its transmission in food chain and human intake of Cd from all pathways were also analyzed.
The concentrations and speciation forms of Pb, Cu, Ni, Cd, Zn, and Mn have been determined in sediments from 49 lakes thoroughout Latvia to study the impact of different pollutant sources and to estimate the background pollution level. Regional variation in pollutant distributions of Pb, Cu, and Cd concentrations is due to anthropogenic load. The enrichment of metals in the top layer of sediments is an estimate of the environmental pollution level. In regions with no known pollution sources, this enrichment was not typical. Another factor that determines metal concentrations in sediments is the organic matter production and sedimentation in eutrophic water bodies.
The concentrations of 10 metals (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) were monitored over a 1-year period in the waters of the lower Adige River. Concentrations in the dissolved and particulate phases were measured, thus constructing a database on metal variability. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Pb in these water samples are too low to be directlydetermined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry or (graphite furnace atomic absorp-tion spectrometry (GFAAS). In this work Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were determinedby inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or GFAAS after on-line pre-concentration and following solvent elution with a flow injection analysis system (FIAS).The eluted samples were also dried in a vacuum container and restored to a small volumewith concentrated HNO3and Milli-Q water for analysis by ICP-MS or GFAAS. The con-centrations of soluble Cd, Fe, and Mn and particulate As, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn are well correlated with seasonal variability (P< 0.01). Dissolved As and Fe are well correlated (P< 0.01),and with respect to the particulate phase, good correlations are observed between Pb, Cd,and Cu.
The distribution and correlation of benthic bio-community, water and sediment pollutants were evaluated with multivariate analysis from data collected over six samplings at 12 sites in the Ell-Ren river system, Taiwan. A total of 41 benthic algae species, 8 aquatic insect species and 2 annelid species were collected. On the basis of both principal component and correlation matrix analyses, we defined six water and sediment pollutant components to reveal common behaviour. Metrioenemus sp., Tubifex sp., Bacillariophyceae and Cyanophyceae could tolerate the environment at highly polluted sites. Caenis sp., Rhithrogena sp. and Baetis sp. preferred sites that were aerobic, and their populations were negatively correlated (52–56%) with detrital heavy metals in sediment. The population of benthic algae was positively variated with lead of the “bound to organic matters and sulphides” fraction, but negatively with copper in the detrital pattern. Results suggested that benthic bio-community demonstrated measurable relationships with water and sediment pollutants in Ell-Ren river system, and could be used as indicators to assess the water quality of river over a longer period.
Fractionation of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Co, Zn, Ni, and Pb) in sediment cores taken from three heavily polluted locations of the Ell-Ren River in southern Taiwan was studied. After the three sediment cores were separated into several depth sections, sequential extraction procedure was used to determine the variations in heavy metal binding fractions (exchangeable, bound to carbonates, bound to Mn oxides, bound to Fe oxides, and bound to organic matter) with different sediment depth, and followed by multivariate analyses. It turns out that a deeper sediment depth tended to result in smaller amounts of total extractable heavy metals (TEHMs), indicating that heavy metal pollution of the river has been intensifying these years. The decreasing order of TEHMs was: Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > Ni > Co. The TEHMs Zn and Cu detected from different depth of the three sediment cores were mainly originated from “bound to carbonates” and “bound to organic matter” fractions, respectively. Also, the percentages of the heavy metals contained in each of the five binding fractons only slightly varied with sediment depth. From multivariate analyses, all the heavy metals except Co behaved similarly and might be discharged from the same pollution sources.
Geochemical fractionation of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and nickel (Ni) were determined using five-stage sequential extraction in sediments collected from estuarine stretches of Cauvery River delta on the eastern coast of India with emphasis on seasonal variation. Abundance of metals in terms of sum of total fractionations varied in the following order: Fe > Mn > Cr > Zn > Cu > Ni > Pb. Exchangeable fraction, believed to be bioavailable, showed differential abundances during the dry and wet seasons in the following order: Pb > Zn > Cu > Mn > Ni > Cr > Fe and Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Mn > Pb > Fe, respectively, indicating the possibility of anthropogenic influence. Among nonlithogenic fraction, organic matter-bound fraction is the second largest and a key scavenger for all of the heavy metals studied except Fe and Mn. A significant portion of Cu-associated organic matter fraction shows strong association of Cu with organic matter at most of the sampling sites. Environmental risk of metals evaluated using risk-assessment code and mobility factor showed low to high risk for Pb, Zn, and Cu. The results of the present study also hint at notable enrichment of heavy metals in the certain pockets of the Cauvery Estuary.
1. The relationships between levels of metals (Zn, Cu) in the environment (water, sediment) and in the tissues of three species of amphipod crustaceans were investigated in superficial and interstitial ecosystems of the Rivers Rhone and Ain, France.
2. Epigean and hypogean amphipods differed in their ability to accumulate Zn and Cu. At all sites, Gammarus fossarum (epigean) showed lower Zn or Cu body concentrations than Niphargus of, rhenorhodanensis or Niphargopsis casparyi (hypogean). Differences were also observed between the two interstitial taxa.
3. A significant difference among sites was observed for metal concentrations in sediment. In contrast, no significant inter‐site differences were found for metal concentrations in organisms.
4. No significant correlation was found between metal concentrations in the three taxa and quantities of metals in the water. A positive correlation was observed between Zn and Cu body content in Gammarus fossarum and metal level in the sediment. No relationships were found between interstitial amphipods and metal concentrations in the sediment.
5. Differences in accumulation rates among the three amphipod species suggest their potential use as biological indicators for monitoring metal pollution.
An investigation on the sediment composition and grain size was carried out along the Bormida river (Piedmont, Northern Italy). The samples were taken both in the riverbed and on its banks. Multivariate statistical exploratory methods permitted to identify possible sources of primary pollution. In particular, principal component analysis (PCA) showed that there are probably at least three anthropogenic main causes of pollution, one connected with Cr, Ni and Sn, the second with cadmium and the last one with mercury. Some correlations were found between heavy metal ion concentrations and organic matter and/or the sediment grain size. Differences between the samples collected in the riverbed and on the banks were identified and the relationships between the principal components and the distance of the samples from the riverbed and from the hot spot represented by the ACNA industrial site were also analyzed.
Sequential extraction of the fine fraction (≦63 µm) of the bottom sediments of the Labe river in Central Bohemia indicates that the readily reducible sediment fraction is a major reservoir of silver for release into the aqueous phase. Molybdenum is preferentially mobilized by ion-exchange, while beryllium is accumulated in all the chemical fractions of the sediments, especially in the moderately reducible and the organic/sulphidic phases.
Contamination of the aquatic system from anthropogenic sources is characterized by the formation of relatively unstable chemical forms and only a small portion of these elements remain in the stable residual fraction.
This study had a purpose to validate different tools based on the oligochaetes for the evaluation of the biological quality of sediments within a surveillance network. Biological data (IOBS index, percentage of Tubificidae with and without hair setae, worm densities), physical data (granulometrics) and chemical data (Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, PCBs, PAHs) have been studied with co-inertia analysis. These analyses show an opposition between IOBS index and metals, a correlation between metals and percentage of Tubificidae without hair setae, and an association between PAHs, low index values, high densities and high percentage of Tubificidae with hair setae. For 24 sites, biological and chemical data gave similar information. In 11 cases on 36 they are conflicting. The use of metal speciations, according to the method of Teissier et al. (1979), show that the organic matter content seems to have an important role by sorbing metals leading to lower availability. Macrophyte cover could also explain some conflicting results. Granulometrics does not play a determinating role in the present case. As a conclusion, a table allowing the classification of river sediments is proposed for monitoring assessment. This table takes into account IOBS index values, the worm densities and the percentage of Tubificidae without hair setae.
A study was carried out of the accumulation of 45 elements in the fine-grained fraction ( 63 m) of the surface stream sediments of the Elbe (Labe) River. The metal contents in the sediments, compared to the geochemical background concentrations, were highest for Ag, Cd, Cu, Hg, Zn, Pb and As. Statistical factor analysis was employed to identify seven types of components in sediments with different sedimentological and geochemical character. The eigenvalues of the first seven factors explained 85% of the total variance. Most of the contaminants in the bottom sediments appear to be bonded to hydrated Fe and Mn oxides and to particulate loading. Possible pollution sources were found by cluster analysis.
The concentration and distribution of copper (Cu) and cadmium (Cd) were examined in water, sediments, detritus, plants and animals in a small, lowland, hardwater river. Consistently higher concentrations of Cu and Cd were found in all types of samples from two sites. There were marked variations in metal concentrations between different types of samples, and between seasons. Copper and Cd were mainly concentrated in sediments, organic detritus and biota, while concentrations in water were three orders of magnitude lower than in the other components in the system. The relatively high concentrations of Cu and Cd in biota suggests that they provide an important pathway for metal transport through the food web in this particular hardwater river. From the rank order of concentrations it appears that sticklebacks exert a greater degree of control than invertebrates in the uptake and elimination of Cu and Cd.
An ancient realgar mine is responsible for the contamination of a riverine system in central Corsica. Nearby the mine, high As and Sb concentrations are found (up to 2–3 mg l-1 and 2–3 g l-1 respectively). A significant increase of the As and Sb concentrations in water is found in the water of the mixing zone of river and sea (Bravona estuary; chlorinity 7000–7800). In the same area, a decrease of As and Sb concentrations in sediments is observed. Fe and Mn exhibit the same behaviour. The possible involvement of redox processes is discussed. However, owing to insufficient reducing capacity and insignificant variation of redox potential values along the various estuarine sites (from 320 down to 280 mV), this scenario is rather doubtful. Desorption from FeOOH particles is the most likely process in the Bravona estuary. The impact of these contaminated waters on the marine environment is discussed. Owing to decrease by dilution, as well as the reduced water flow of the estuary, the net supply of As and Sb to the Tyrrhenian Sea is approximately 5 and 1.5 t y-1 for As and Sb respectively. The possible harmful influence of the Bravona river should be of local concern only, and the emphasis of this study is, therefore, on a better knowledge of in situ processes.
Heavy metal distribution patterns in river sediments aid in understanding the exogenic cycling of elements as well as in assessing the effect of anthropogenic influences. In India, the Subernarekha river flows over the Precambrian terrain of the Singhbhum craton in eastern India. The rocks are of an iron ore series and the primary rock types are schist and quartzite. One main tributary, the Kharkhai, flows through granite rocks and subsequently flows through the schist and quartzite layers. The Subernarekha flows through the East Singhbhum district, which is one of India’s industrialised areas known for ore mining, steel production, power generation, cement production and other related activities. Freshly deposited river sediments were collected upstream and downstream the industrial zone. Samples were collected from four locations and analysed in <63-μm sediment fraction for heavy metals including Zn, Pb, Cd and Cu by anodic stripping voltammetry. Enrichment of these elements over and above the local natural concentration level has been calculated and reported. Sediments of the present study are classified by Muller’s geo-accumulation index (I
geo) and vary from element to element and with climatic seasons. During pre-monsoon period the maximum I
geo value for Zn is moderately to highly polluted and for Cu and Pb is moderately polluted, respectively, based on the Muller’s standard. Anthropogenic, lithogenic or cumulative effects of both components are the main reasons for such variations in I
geo values. The basic igneous rock layer through which the river flows or a seasonal rivulet that joins with the main river may be the primary source for lithogenic components.
Distribution of heavy metals in bottom sediments from heavily polluted section of Yenshui river, located in the southern Taiwan, are presented. Sediment cores of seven sites were separated into several cuts and analyzed with both sequential extraction procedure (SEP) to realize the heavy metal contents (including Cr, Co, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cu and Cd) among binding fractions of different sediment depth and multivariate analysis (MA) to conduct the correlations of heavy metal variation in depth profile. Results show that distribution of heavy metals in depth profile of sediment is not identical among different sites. Levels of Zn, Cr, Cu and Ni were higher than other metals, and within the ranges of 30-200 mg/Kg, 8-160 mg/Kg, 5-130 mg/Kg, 10-100 mg/Kg, respectively. The major binding forms of Zn, Cr and Cu in sediment were "bound to carbonates', "bound to Fe oxides' and "bound to organic matter", respectively. And, the percentages of different heavy metal binding forms were not significantly varied in depth profile. Results of principal component analyses (PCA) demonstrate that Cr, Ni and Cu were clustered, which indicate these metals had similar loadings in sediment profile, and might be discharged from the same pollution source of electroplating industry.
The distribution of trace metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Ni) in water, suspended and bed sediments of the River Hindon, a highly polluted river in western Uttar Pradesh (India) has been studied. The river is polluted by municipal, industrial and agricultural effluents, and flows through the city of Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Ghaziabad districts. The heavy metal concentrations in water were observed to depend largely on the amount of flowing water and are negatively correlated with flow. Sediment analysis indicates that the large amount of heavy metals is associated with organic matter, the fine-grained sediment fraction and Fe/Mn hydrous oxides. A high positive correlation of most of the metal ions in sediments with iron, manganese and organic matter indicate that these constituents play a major role in transport of metal ions. The heavy metal concentrations generally increased with the decreasing particle size of the sediments. Lower metal concentrations in bed sediments during post-monsoon season established that monsoon had a slight effect on status of metals in sediments by causing renewal and mobilization of metals from the sediments.
Invertebrate samples from nine East Anglian rivers were collected above and below crossings of the A12 and A14 trunk roads in spring and summer 1996 to assess any impact due to road run-off discharges. The Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) score, average score per taxon (ASPT) and Shannon diversity index values were compared between upstream and downstream sites. Only the BMWP score was significantly lower in summer at downstream sites in those rivers crossed by the A12. Zinc, lead and cadmium concentrations in sediments and invertebrates (Asellus aquaticus, Gammarus pulex, Sialis lutaria) did not differ significantly between upstream and downstream sites. There was a significant relationship between metal concentrations in sediments and invertebrates only for lead. Road run-off from these trunk roads appears to have no major impact on the receiving streams.
Burrowing mayflies (Hexagenia bilineata) were analyzed to assess longitudinal patterns in their cadmium and mercury content along the upper Mississippi River. Emergent mayflies (subimagoes and imagoes) were collected in 1988 at 34 sites (25 navigation pools), extending 1260 km from Little Falls, Minnesota, downstream to St. Louis, Missouri. Cadmium concentrations in composite samples of whole mayflies ranged from 7 to 219 ng/g dry weight in females and from less than 7 to 265 ng/g in males. Cadmium concentrations were highest (greater than or equal to 150 ng/g) in samples from Pools 2 and 3 (downstream from the Twin Cities metropolitan area), 15 (near the Quad Cities metropolitan area), and 27 (near the St. Louis metropolitan area). Cadmium concentrations in female mayflies decreased significantly with distance downstream from Pool 2 at river mile 825 to Pool 9 at river mile 648, paralleling spatial trends in the cadmium contamination of sediments in the reach downstream from the Twin Cities metropolitan area, reported in earlier studies; cadmium burdens in mayflies followed a similar spatial trend. Concentrations of mercury were much less variable, ranging from 44 to 102 ng/g dry weight in female mayflies and from 60 to 177 ng/g in males; concentrations and burdens were highest in mayflies collected at Pools 2, 20, 22, 25, and 27. Mercury concentrations in females decreased significantly with distance downstream from Pool 2 at river mile 825 to Pool 5A at river mile 728.5. Concentrations of mercury and cadmium in composite samples of female mayflies were not correlated, indicating dissimilar longitudinal patterns in concentrations of the two metals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The goal of biological monitoring is to give reliable and proper information on possible effects of chemicals, present in the water due to human activities, to enable the protection of the aquatic ecosystems and particularly to provide for the required scientific quidance in legislation and enforcement.
Distributions of geochemical binding phases of seven heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Co, Zn, Ni, Pb, and Cd) in sediment cores taken from six heavily polluted sites of the Ell-Ren River in Southern Taiwan were studied. Sequential extraction procedures (SEP) were used to determine the variations of heavy metal binding phases (exchangeable, bound to carbonates, bound to manganese-oxides, bound to iron-oxides, and bound to organic matter) in different sediment depths. Multivariate analyses were used to explore the correlations among these geochemical binding phases of heavy metals. Results showed that the total amounts of various binding phases of heavy metals significantly varied with sediment depth, but their binding behaviors in various phases did not significantly change with depth. The organic matter content in the sediments increased with increasing Fe-oxide content. In addition, the binding affinities of carbonates with Zn, Pb, and Ni were higher than the affinities of carbonates with the other heavy metals. The binding affinity of Fe-oxides with Cr was higher than the affinities of Fe-oxides with the other heavy metals. Both correlation matrixes and principal component analyses demonstrated that distributions of Cu, Zn, Ni, and Cd had significant correlations with each other in both different depth horizons and various geochemical binding phases. The results indicate that these heavy metals might be discharged from the same pollution sources in the past, and also showed stable geochemical binding behaviors with the high silt sediment. However, Co had a poor correlation with the other six heavy metals in various binding phases, except with organic matter. Binding behaviors of Pb in the phases of bound to carbonates and exchangeable were different from the other six heavy metals. Cu was inversly correlated with the other six heavy metals in its binding behavior with reducible phases (Fe-/Mn-oxides).
Sediment geochemical technique was employed to assess how the sediment records reflect the environmental changes of Jiaozhou Bay, a semi-enclosed bay adjacent to Qingdao, China. In the past hundred years, Jiaozhou Bay has been greatly impacted by human interventions. A dated core sediment by 210Pb chronology was analyzed for trace metals including Li, Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Ni, Co, Zn together with C, N, P and BSi. Based on the research, the development of Jiaozhou Bay environment in the past hundred years can be divided into three stages: (1) before the 1980s characterized by relatively low sedimentation rate, weak heavy metal pollution and scarce eutrophication; (2) from the 1980s to 2000, accelerating in the 1990s, during which high sedimentation rates, polluted by heavy metals and the frequent occurrence of red tide; (3) after 2000, the period of the improvement of environment, the whole system has been meliorated including the heavy metal pollution and hypernutrification.
In industrialized countries the trace metal concentrations in fluvial sediments reflect the industrial activity in the drainage areas of the relevant rivers.' In Western Europe the river Rhine is an outstanding example of a stream in which large quantities of metals are discharged. In its lower courses the disso.1ved and particulate metals are transported to some artificial freshwater lakes, which are a result of enclosure works (see Figure I, Haringvliet and Lake IJssel), to the Rotterdam harbor area, and to the North Sea. In recent years numerous studies have dealt with the concentrations of trace metals in the sediments (De Groot, 1973; De Groot and Allersma, 1975), as well as with the ,dissolved and particulate trace metals (Dui1:tker et aZ •• 1974; Duinker and Nolting, 1976, 1977) •. In this chapter we shall describe the development of the trace metal concentrations in the sediments with time and discuss briefly some processes of these metals in freshwater bodies.
Differentiation of sedimentary metal phases was performed ongrain-size fractionated samples from the lower Rhine River by successive chemical leaching (review). Pollution affects the significant increase of non-residual associations of chromium, copper, lead, and zinc. Except for manganses the metal contents in most of the extracted phases decrease as the grain size increases. Phase concentration factors (PCF; relative enrichment of metal content in major carrier substances) are high for chromium in moderately reducible phases (20-fold increase in clay-sized particles), for manganese and zinc in the easily reducible sediment fraction (30- and 35-fold enrichment), and for copper and zinc in the carbonates (15 or 25 times compared with total sediment).
The role of heavy metals in aquatic organisms has been treated in earlier literature reviews (e.g., Doudoroff and Katz, 1953) with emphasis on the toxicity of the individual metals. Only since mercury and cadmium poisoning in Japan (ref. Chap. B) has the accent been shifted towards investigations dealing with the influence of heavy metals on the metabolism of aquatic organisms and the ability of the latter to accumulate both essential and non-essential metals.
Preliminary results of a first year of study of the mercury concentrations in water, sediments and in representatives of the fauna of a wide strip along the coast where the effluent of a large chloralkali factory discharges its wastes are reported. It is interesting to note the presence of high concentrations of mercury in the water of a larger area than had been thought, reaching values as high as 204 ng/l in the most polluted station, and evidence of a relationship between the mercury concentration and the size of the sediment granules. There were great differences in mercury content between animals of different phyla, and, within the same phylum, between groups and species and also great variations in mercury concentration in different tissues of the same specimen, with consistently higher values in the visceral organs than in the muscles in all specimens of all studied species. An evident mercury accumulation in the white muscle of the small scaled sea scorpion was found, but no evident mercury accumulation in the foot muscle of the limpet.
Abstract A method is presented for measuring organic carbon in both carbonate-rich and carbonate-poor marine sediments. Samples are sonicated with phosphoric acid to remove carbonates. The spent acid supernatant is analyzed for dissolved organic carbon, the solid residue for total carbon: their sum yields the organic carbon content of the sample. The technique is free from carbonate interferences, involves no losses due to acid solubilization, and has excellent precision $(better than \pm 0.02% C_org)$ and accuracy $(better than \pm 2%)$.
Accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, and cadmium by sandworms (Nereis virens), hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) and grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) exposed to contaminated sediments from four sites in New York Harbor was studied for a 100-day period. Of the three contaminants monitored, only PCBs were found to bioaccumulate above background (control) concentrations. Small increases in PCB body burden were detected in M. mercenaria and P. pugio, whereas higher concentrations were measured in N. virens. Uptake was affected by the organic content of the sediment. Bioaccumulation factors (concentration in tissue/concentration in sediment) for N. virens ranged from 1.59 in a low organic sediment to 0.15 in a high organic sediment. Results from this study support the contention that sediment concentration alone does not reflect bioavailability and that toxicity tests (bioassays) and field monitoring remain the most direct method for estimating bioaccumulation potential of sediment-bound contaminants.
In order to investigate the partitioning of trace elements in pelagic sediments various selective chemical techniques are examined, and a method is described which may be used to separate chemically those trace elements incorporated into pelagic sediments by ferro-manganese nodules, carbonate minerals (excluding dolomite) and by adsorption onto mineral surfaces. The investigated techniques are: those involving the use of acids (e.g., dilute acetic acid), those involving the use of reducing agents (e.g., 1M hydroxylamine hydrochloride) and those involving the use of both acids and reducing agents. The application of the technique described is illustrated by examining the partition of Ni and V in a pelagic sediment sample.
Concentrations of chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc in superficial sediments in New York Bight are ten to a hundred times greater near waste disposal areas than in uncontaminated sediments. Some wastes are transported by currents north-east towards Long Island and south-east along the Hudson Submarine Valley.
Heidelberg, Univ., Naturwiss. Gesamtfak., Diss., 1977. (Nicht f. d. Austausch.).
Mercury is one of the various waste substances transported by the river Rhine across the German-Dutch border. Together with a number of other heavy metals mercury is present in large quantities. Upstream these metals are predominantly fixed to the suspended, solids in the water and may be deposited on river flats and flood plains. From the fresh-water tidal area of the river onward, however, these elements are more or less solubilized during their transport as organo-metallic complexes. The mobilization of mercury is most pronounced in this respect. leading to more normal amounts of this element in sediments from the Wadden Sea. This article deals with the behaviour of mercury through the whole Rhine estuary as compared with a number of other heavy metals. As a counterpart of the Rhine the same processes are described for the river Ems. The latter may be regarded as a classic example of an unpolluted stream.
An improved digestion procedure for the extraction of mercury from environmental material is reported. The method involves the digestion of the sample at 60 °C with sulphuric acid-nitric acid (2 + 1), containing a trace amount of hydrochloric acid, and subsequent oxidation with permanganate and persulphate solutions. With this procedure mercury is successfully recovered from organic matter and resistant inorganic forms such as mercury(II) sulphide. Unlike digestion with aqua regia, this procedure is simple and safe, and is applicable to the digestion of a large number of samples simultaneously. The method can be adapted to the automated cold-vapour and flame atomic-absorption techniques and is therefore ideal for routine monitoring.
In an effort to expand the environmental quality baseline of northern New England the authors surveyed Penobscot Bay for the distribution of benthic fauna and several pollutants as part of the Northeast Monitoring Program. Penobscot Bay, the largest embayment in northern New England, is located centrally on the Maine coast. This paper presents data on the distribution of the trace metals Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn in the surficial sediments of Penobscot Bay with the aim of describing existing conditions and providing a bench-mark against which to evaluate future alterations.
In the near future, the Gunnison River, Gunnison County, Colorado (Fig. i) may be affected by mining and milling operations for both molybdenum and uranium (USDA 1979; USDA 1979a; AMAX). At present, little molybdenum has been documented in the aquatic systems of the county (EPA 1971-1977). However, levels of molybdenum in the environment can increase with the mining and milling, RUNNELLS (1975) found that areas that are highly mineralized and physically disturbed have significantly more molybdenum in theenvironment than similarly mineralized areas that are undisturbed. Historically, the release of molybdenum into the surrounding ecosystem has been exacerbated by the mining of coal, molybdenum, and uranium (LE GENDRE & RUNNELLS 1975). In the milling of both molybdenum and uranium, the ores are reduced to a fine powder (HOMESTAKE 1980; AM~X). During the milling process of both metals, an alkaline flotation system precipitates out most metals, but increases the solubility of molybdenum (LE GENDRE & RUNNELLS 1975). Both the ore reduction and flotation processes redistribute molybdenum in the environment. Potable water supplies are limited in Colorado and thus increases the possibility of livestock and human beings consuming molybdenumcontaminated water in areas of pertubation~ Already, cases of molybdenosis in livestock have been documented in Colorado downstream from a molybdenum mine (KABACK 1976). As the minimg of the molybdenum and uranium lodes commences, a technique to monitor the relocation of molybdenum in the aquatic environment of Gunnison County is needed. Aquatic insects concentrate certain metals, such as cadmium, from the surrounding ecosystem by two to four orders of magnitude (COLBORN 1981). This study was initiated to test the idea that insects could reflect levels of molybdenum in an ecosystem before the molybdenum was detectable by standard methods of
Trace metals transported by the Amazon (and Yukon rivers were analytically partitioned among the transport phases: in solutions, ion exchange, organic materials, metallic coatings, and crystalline solids. The distribution for both rivers is similarly proportioned, with copper and chromium transported mainly in the crystalline solids, manganese in coatings, and iron, nickel, and cobalt distributed equally between precipitated metallic coatings and crystalline solids.
I macroinvertebrati nella sorveglianza ecologica dei corsi d'acqua Mechanisms of trace metal transport in rivers
- P F Ghetti
- Bonazzi
Ghetti P. F. and Bonazzi (1981) I macroinvertebrati nella sorveglianza ecologica dei corsi d'acqua. C.N.R., Roma, AQ/I/127. Gibbs R. J. (1973) Mechanisms of trace metal transport in rivers. Science 180, 71--73.
Biological surveillance of rivers Prove di laboratorio
- J M Hallawell
Hallawell J. M. (1978) Biological surveillance of rivers. Water Research Centre, Stevenage Lab., Stevenage, England. Lameri F. (1982) Prove di laboratorio. Geol. Tec. 2, 35-59.
Schwermetallbelasting in den Sedimenten der Elsenz und ihre Auswirkung auf limniche Or-ganismen. Dissertation, University of Heidelberg. Prosi F. (1981) Heavy metals in aquatic organisms
- F Prosi
Prosi F. (1977) Schwermetallbelasting in den Sedimenten der Elsenz und ihre Auswirkung auf limniche Or-ganismen. Dissertation, University of Heidelberg. Prosi F. (1981) Heavy metals in aquatic organisms. In Metal Pollution in the Aquatic Environemnt, pp. 271-323.
I metalli pesanti nei sedimenti quali criteri di alterazione ambientale
- Casati
Prove di laboratorio
- Lameri
Indagine preliminare sulle caratteristiche fisiche e chimiche del tratto Veronese dell'Adige e dei suoi affluenti a regime perenne
- Duzzin
Caratteristiche fisiche e chimiche delle acque del flume Adige e dei suoi principali affluenti in provincia di Verona
- Duzzin
I macroinvertebrati nella sorveglianza ecologica dei corsi d'acqua
- Ghetti
Influenze antropiche sul tratto veronese dell'Adige
- Braioni
Biological monitoring of surface water quality
- Woodiwiss