Statistical analysis of heavy metal concentrations from lake sediments

Abstract

Clustering, multivariate and discriminant protocols have been utilized to analyze the data obtained from the analysis of aqueous sediments from some lakes surrounding a coal‐fired power plant. Metal concentrations were determined by atomic absorption methods. The large data accumulated were subjected to clustering techniques. Tree diagrams—dendrograms—and K‐means cluster were plotted from the reduced cluster data set to highlight the (dis)similarity pattern of metals among the lakes. Also presented are the correlations between the scavenging parameters—Fe, Mn, clay material and organic matter—and the metals Cd, Cu, and Zn. Furthermore, relationship between depth from surface and the metals at this initial time of study has been assessed.

Key words:

• aqueous sediments
• metal concentrations
• control parameters
• SAS computer packages