Source Apportionment and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Mn) in Surface Sediments from the Dragon Lake, Bengbu, China

Abstract

Heavy metals have become a worldwide concern due to their characteristics of toxicity, persistence, and non-degradability, they are easily accumulated in environmental medium, and pose a threat to human health through the food chain [1][2][3]. In aqueous ecosystem, heavy metals derived from both natural (e.g. rock weathering and soil erosion) and anthropogenic sources (such as agriculture, industrial and coal mining activities, transportation). After entering into the aquatic ecosystem, only a small portion of free metal ions remain dissolved, the rest get deposited in surface sediments [4]. In certain conditions, they can be released back into the water again posing ecological risk to aquatic organisms. Thus, sediments not only act as a carrier of pollutants, but also the potential sources of contamination in the water itself [5][6]. In the water, trace amounts of heavy metals such as Zn, Cu, Ni, and Mn are indispensable for the function of biological systems, but their over-accumulation can be harmful

Utilization of Pollution Indices, Hyperspectral Reflectance Indices, and Data-Driven Multivariate Modelling to Assess the Bottom Sediment Quality of Lake Qaroun, Egypt

“…Sediment monitoring, on the other hand, provides useful information on a variety of pollution indicators [5]. Sediments scrupulously store evidence of human activity and are crucial in determining pollution sources, history, dispersion, and damage to the ecosystem [6][7][8]. The lake's aquatic environmental conservation programs crucially need a clear explanation of the spatial distribution of PTMs in lake's bottom sediments and inferring the possible ecological risk [9,10].…”