title: Source, distribution and ecotoxicological assessment of multielements in superficial sediments of a tropical turbid estuarine environment: A multivariate approach.
abstract: The work examined the distribution, possible sources and ecotoxicological assessment of 51 trace elements covering 13 sampling stations in surface sediments of coastal regions of Sundarban mangrove wetland and adjacent Hugli river estuary. The element concentrations exhibited an increasing trend towards downstream of the estuary (except lanthanides) with maximum enrichment for 22 elements at Gangadharpur (Sundarban region). According to Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs), the concentrations of Cu, As, Cr and Cd exceeded the Effects-Range-Low values, while Ni at certain stations exceeded the Effects-Range-Medium suggesting adverse effects on the sediment-dwelling organisms. The geoaccumulation index revealed that the stations were unpolluted to moderately polluted. Risk Index (357.61) and Enrichment factor (11.42) depicted that Nimtala station (upstream) was at high ecological risk zone. The result of PCA endorsed that organic carbon and clay fraction play crucial role in accumulating the elements in sediments. This pilot study contributes to a better understanding of the geochemistry of this complex deltaic ecosystem.
authors.affiliation: Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Calcutta 700019, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mitra
authors.affiliation: Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Marriott
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Calcutta 700019, India. Electronic address: cusarkar@gmail.com.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sarkar
mesh_terms: D054750:Ecotoxicology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Ecological risk; Elements; Geochemical indices; Hugli (Ganges) river; Sundarban mangrove wetland; Surface sediment