title: Heavy metal spatial variability and historical changes in the Yangtze River estuary and North Jiangsu tidal flat.
abstract: This research focuses on the spatial and temporal patterns of heavy metals from the Yangtze River estuary and the tidal flat of north Jiangsu. Most heavy metals in the surficial sediments after normalization to Ti decreased seaward at the Yangtze River estuary. The core records showed that the heavy metal variations in the last 50years were primarily linked to natural weathering input of trace elements. However, significant heavy metal pollution (mainly Ni, Pb, Cd, Cu and As) were in the two study areas, with anthropogenic inventories accounting for 23-40% percent of the total pollution. Sequential extraction showed that Pb, Cu and Ni were present largely in the non-residual fraction, which indicated the potential bioavailability in the study areas. The SEM/EDS together with sequential extraction facilitated the easy tracing of the origin/sources of heavy metals in a simple way in the estuary and the tidal flat.
authors.affiliation: School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Soochow University, Jiangsu 215123, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Jiangsu 215123, China. Electronic address: liuzy@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The Key Lab of Ministry of Education of Coast and Island Development, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Shaoming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: The Key Lab of Ministry of Education of Coast and Island Development, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China; Institute of Marine Geology, East China Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau, Nanjing 210007, China.
authors.forename: Zhuyou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Coastal Resources and Environment Research Center Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
authors.forename: Renfeng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Soochow University, Jiangsu 215123, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Lanhua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Soochow University, Jiangsu 215123, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Yanlong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Soochow University, Jiangsu 215123, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Jiangsu 215123, China.
authors.forename: Shuao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D002681:China; D003300:Copper / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000266:history*; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D009532:Nickel / Q000302:isolation & purification; D045483:Rivers; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D014131:Trace Elements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014131:Trace Elements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D003300:Copper; D009532:Nickel
keywords: BCR sequential extraction; Heavy metal; North Jiangsu tidal flat; SEM/EDS; Yangtze River estuary