title: Multivariate analysis of heavy metal contents in soils, sediments and water in the region of Meknes (central Morocco).
abstract: Concentrations of Al, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in soils, sediments and water samples collected along the Oued Boufekrane river (Meknes, central Morocco) were determined. In soils, a homogeneous distribution of metal concentrations was observed throughout the study area except for Pb, which presents high enrichment at sites located at the vicinity of a main highway. In sediments, high enrichment, with respect to upstream sites, were observed downstream of the city of Meknes for Al, Cr, Fe and Ni and inside the city for Cu, Zn and Pb. In water samples, the metal contents showed to correlate with their homologues in sediments suggesting that the metal contents in water and sediments have identical origins. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis (principal factor method, PFM) were used to assist the interpretation of elemental data. This allowed the determination of the correlations between the metals and the identification of three main factor loadings controlling the metal variability in soils and sediments.
authors.affiliation: Université Moulay Ismaïl, Faculté des Sciences, Département de Physique, Béni M'Hamed, Meknès, Morocco. tahri_mounia@hotmail.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tahri
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benyaïch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bounakhla
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bilal
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gruffat
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moutte
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D009018:Morocco; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical