Biomaterial Database

Distribution, source, and contamination assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments of the Old Yellow River Estuary in China. 2023

Lihui Xiang, and Jinwei Yang, and Yanfen Wang, and Qiang Liu, and Gang Zhang

Institute of Geochemical Exploration and Marine Geological Survey, ECE, Nanjing 210007, PR China. Electronic address: xianglihuidzj@163.com.

To assess the sources and pollution status of heavy metals, surface sediments from the Old Yellow River estuary were systematically sampled and analyzed to determine the concentrations of seven heavy metals. The Pearson's correlation coefficient, enrichment factor, geoaccumulation index, and principal component analysis were used to distinguish the sources and assess the pollution risk of heavy metals. The results showed that the distributions of Al, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, and As were similar and mainly dominated by fine-grained sediments, whereas the distributions of Cd and Hg were irregular. Al was strongly correlated with Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, and Mz, and positively correlated with Cr. Except for Cr, Cd, and Hg, all the other elements were positively correlated with Mz. Multiple indicators indicated that Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, and As were mainly derived from natural sources, whereas Hg and Cd were derived from anthropogenic sources.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007854	Lead	A soft, grayish metal with poisonous salts; atomic number 82, atomic weight 207.2, symbol Pb.
D008628	Mercury	A silver metallic element that exists as a liquid at room temperature. It has the atomic symbol Hg (from hydrargyrum, liquid silver), atomic number 80, and atomic weight 200.59. Mercury is used in many industrial applications and its salts have been employed therapeutically as purgatives, antisyphilitics, disinfectants, and astringents. It can be absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes which leads to MERCURY POISONING. Because of its toxicity, the clinical use of mercury and mercurials is diminishing.
D002104	Cadmium	An element with atomic symbol Cd, atomic number 48, and atomic weight 112.41. It is a metal and ingestion will lead to CADMIUM POISONING.
D002681	China	A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.	Inner Mongolia,Manchuria,People's Republic of China,Sinkiang,Mainland China
D045483	Rivers	Large natural streams of FRESH WATER formed by converging tributaries and which empty into a body of water (lake or ocean).	Streams,River,Stream
D019216	Metals, Heavy	Metals with high specific gravity, typically larger than 5. They have complex spectra, form colored salts and double salts, have a low electrode potential, are mainly amphoteric, yield weak bases and weak acids, and are oxidizing or reducing agents (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Heavy Metal,Heavy Metals,Metal, Heavy
D063366	Estuaries	A partially enclosed body of water, and its surrounding coastal habitats, where saltwater from the ocean mixes with fresh water from rivers or streams. The resulting mixture of seawater and fresh water is called brackish water and its salinity can range from 0.5 to 35 ppt. (accessed http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/estuaries01_whatis.html)	Fjord,Estuary,Fjords