title: Characterization of the Danube River sediments using the PMF multivariate approach.
abstract: Chemical composition data for the Danube River and its tributaries sediments were analyzed using positive matrix factorization (PMF). The objective was to identify both natural and anthropogenic sources affecting Danube Basin. During the Joint Danube Survey 2 (JDS2) campaign 148 bottom sediments samples were collected. The following elements were analyzed using the X-ray fluorescence technique: Al, As, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Si, Ti, V and Zn. Mercury was determined by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. Three factors were obtained considering the whole dataset (Danube and tributaries), identified as: (i) carbonate component characterized by Ca and Mg; (ii) alumino-silicate component dominated by Si and Al content and the presence of some metals attributed to natural processes; (iii) anthropogenic source identified by Hg, S, P and some heavy metals load. To better characterize the role of tributaries, the Danube and tributaries datasets, were also analyzed separately. The same three factor structures were identified in the Danube dataset. For the tributaries, a four-factor source model gave one further factor dominated by S and P, which could be attributed to the use of fertilizers in agriculture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences "Ardito Desio", University of Milan, Via Botticelli 23, 20133 Milan, Italy; European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via Enrico Fermi, 21020 Ispra, Italy. Electronic address: sara.comero@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Comero
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vaccaro
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Locoro
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Capitani
authors.forename: Bernd Manfred
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Gawlik
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005061:Europe, Eastern; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Danube River Basin; Heavy metals; Positive matrix factorization; Sediments