Determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons and selected heavy metal (Pb, CO, V, Ni) concentration levels in surficial sediments of the Arvand River Estuary and their impact on benthic macroinvertebrates assemblages

ABSTRACT

In the current study, the determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and selected heavy metal (Pb, Co, V, Ni) concentration levels in surficial sediments of the Arvand River and their impacts on benthic invertebrate assemblages are investigated. For this purpose, a total of 100 surface sediment samples from 10 stations were collected for TPHs, heavy metals, macroinvertebrates, TOM, and grain size measurements using a Van-Veen grab sampler during winter 2018. A Horiba U10 multiparameter probe was used at each station for the in-situ measurement of environmental variables of water samples close to river bottom using a Nansen bottle sampler. Sediment quality guidelines along with Pearson’s correlation analysis and calculated diversity indices revealed that Arvand River Estuary (ARE) is threatened by contamination, especially with respect to Ni, Pb, and TPHs. The relatively high concentrations of Ni in most stations and Pb in some stations comparing to guidelines and other regions can be related to industrial activities as well as passing several ships and boats in the region. Shannon–Wiener diversity values recorded in the present study ranged between 0 and 2.01 indicating heavy to moderate pollution status in ARE. Altogether, the present study findings could be useful as the baseline for future research and better management for reducing contaminant levels.

KEYWORDS:

• TPHs
• heavy metals
• sediment
• diversity indices
• Arvand River Estuary
• Persian Gulf

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).