title: The environment quality of heavy metals in sediments from the central Bohai Sea.
abstract: The heavy metals (Cu, Co, Ni, Zn, Cr, Pb, Cd) in surface and core sediments from the central Bohai Sea were analyzed to evaluate the temporal/spatial distribution and pollution status. Cd exhibited gradual increase vertically, while others were stable or declined slightly in core sediments. In surface sediments, metals showed higher values in 'central mud area of the Bohai Sea' and the coastal area of the Bohai Bay. Cd and Pb also had high levels in the northeastern part of Bohai Sea. Both the contamination factors (CFs) and the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) indicated that Cu, Co, Ni, and Cr were not at pollution levels, while Pb, Zn, and Cd indicated moderate contamination. Compared with sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, and Cd were likely to produce occasional adverse biological effects, while Ni showed possible ecotoxicological risks. The combined levels of the metals have a 21% probability of being toxic.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Technology in the Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao 266100, China. Electronic address: mingliuouc@163.com.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Technology in the Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Aibin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Technology in the Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Yongjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Technology in the Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Technology in the Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Dejiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Central Bohai Sea; Environment quality; Heavy metal; Sediment