Heavy metal pollution recorded in Porites corals from Daya Bay, northern South China Sea.
We examined metal-to-calcium ratios (Fe/Ca, Mn/Ca and Zn/Ca) in the growth bands of two Porites corals from Daya Bay, South China Sea, in order to trace long-term trends in local ambient pollution levels. Although Fe and Mn did not show any obvious increasing trends over 32 years in the period 1976-2007, peak values of Fe/Ca and Mn/Ca occurred in the mid-late 1980s, temporally-coeval with the local construction of a nuclear power station. Furthermore, both corals showed rapid increases in Zn concentrations over the past 14 years (1994-2007), most likely due to increases in domestic and industrial sewage discharge. The Daya Bay corals had higher concentrations of metals than other reported corals from both pristine and seriously polluted locations, suggesting that acute (Fe and Mn) and chronic (Zn) heavy metal contamination has occurred locally over the past approximately 32 years.
Chen
Tian-Ran
TR
Key Laboratory of Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China. chentianran2008@gmail.com
Yu
Ke-Fu
KF
Li
Shu
S
Price
Gilbert J
GJ
Shi
Qi
Q
Wei
Gang-Jian
GJ
D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000737:chemistry*; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical