Distribution of heavy metals in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary, southern China: implications for sources and historical changes.
The distribution of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd and As) in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary was investigated. The spatial distribution of heavy metals displayed a decreasing pattern from the turbidity maxima to both upstream and downstream of the estuary, which suggested that suspended sediments played an important role in the trace metal distribution in the Pearl River Estuary. In addition, metal concentrations were higher in the west part of the estuary which received most of the pollutants from the Pearl River. In the sediment cores, fluxes of heavy metals were consistent with a predominant anthropogenic input in the period 1970-1990. From the mid-1990s to the 2000s, there was a significant decline in heavy metal pollution. The observed decline has shown the result of pollution control in the Pearl River Delta. However, it is noteworthy that the metal concentrations in the most recent sediment still remained considerably high. Taken together, the enrichment of heavy metals in sediments was largely controlled by anthropogenic pollution.
State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China. yefeng@scsio.ac.cn
Feng
F
Ye
Xiaoping
X
Huang
Dawen
D
Zhang
Lei
L
Tian
Yanyi
Y
Zeng
D000383:Agriculture / Q000191:economics; D061006:Bays / Q000737:chemistry; D002681:China; D005843:Geography; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D059066:Gross Domestic Product; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history*
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical