Characterization of Metals in Surface Sediments from Xiaoyang River, Jiangsu, China

ABSTRACT

Some metal species and fractions have high affinity to anthropogenic activities, making it feasible to characterize the spatiotemporal characteristics of human-induced degradation of ecosystems. The accumulation of Fe, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, and Pb, their fractions, physiochemical parameters, and nutrients was evaluated in the surface sediments at 11 sites on the Xiaoyang River in urban and suburban locations in Jiangsu, China for the assessment of pollution. The sediment quality was evaluated based on sediment quality guidelines, enrichment factors, geoaccumulation index, potential ecological risk index, and risk assessment code. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to identify the sources of the metals. The total concentrations of metals, enrichment factors, and geoaccumulation indices demonstrated that all sites were significantly polluted with Zn and significantly to moderately polluted by Cu, Pb, and Ni. Moreover, higher metal enrichment was present downstream through downtown Sheyang due to extensive human activities. However, the potential ecological risk indices and risk assessment codes revealed high bioavailability and toxicity of Pb in this region. These results indicated that the metal fraction showed higher susceptibility. The accuracy of the ecological risk assessment was evaluated in the river, indicating a heavy anthropogenic impact.

KEYWORDS:

• Bioavailability
• ecological risk
• enrichment factor
• heavy metal
• multiplicative analysis techniques
• Xiaoyang river

Acknowledgments

We thank Yi-Min Song and Jun Cui (School of Geography Science, Nanjing Normal University) for their valuable assistance in the core sampling, and Dr Yanping Zhao and Dr Jine Liu for the stimulating remarks about the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

All authors claim that they do not have any actual or potential conflicts of interest with other people or organizations.