Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of metals in sediments and surface water within the Lago Paranoá catchment in Central Brazil, and to evaluate metal enrichments due to anthropogenic activities. Concentrations of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ti and Zn were analyzed in sediment samples from sediment sources under different land uses, in alluvial sediment profiles, and in water samples. Principal component analysis was used to investigate the impact of different land use types on metal concentrations in source sediments. The anthropogenic impact of different land uses on metal concentrations in sediments was quantified by the calculation of enrichment factors, using the local geological background as reference. The data showed that different anthropogenic activities are related to specific metal enrichments in source and alluvial sediments. Particularly urban areas with high-density block development were characterized by higher enrichments of Cd, Cr, Pb, Sr and Zn compared to the local background values. Sediments from agricultural areas had higher concentrations of Cr, Cu and Ni compared to urban areas, which is caused by higher contents of clay and not due to human impact. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb in surface water samples of the main rivers discharging into Lago Paranoá were very low. The values of Al, Fe, Mn, Sr and Zn differed between the sub-catchments and showed seasonal variation. Metal concentrations depended substantially on terrestrial inputs from anthropogenic and natural sources. The analysis of effluent water samples indicated that there is a temporary metal input into the lake from the two wastewater treatment plants, which might have caused metal enrichments in sediments and water. The regression analyses showed that there is a strong correlation between metal concentrations in alluvial sediments and corresponding water samples, as well as between metal accumulation in the alluvial sediments and shares of urban areas in the sub-catchment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbt-Braun G, Majewsky M, Hebben N, Steiniger B, Börnick H, Worch E, Cavalcanti CGB, Cavalcanti CP, Frimmel FH (2012) Evaluation of reservoir water quality as the basis for an optimised water treatment—case study in the Lake Paranoá, Brasília. In: Frauenhofer IOSB (ed) Interactions of water with energy and materials in urban areas and agriculture. IWRM Karlsruhe 2012—Integrated Water Resources Management, Karlsruhe (ISBN 978-3-8396-0478-6)
Amado Filho GM, Creed JC, Andrade LR, Pfeiffer WC (2004) Metal accumulation by Halodule wrightii populations. Aquat Bot 80:241–251
Brazil—Conselho Nacional de Mei Ambiente (1986) Resolucao CONAMA n°20, Diario Oficial [da] Republíca Federativa do Brasil, Brasília, DF, 30 June 1986. http://www.mma.gov.br/port/conama/res86/res2086.html. Accessed 18 March 2013
Brazil—Conselho Nacional de Mei Ambiente (2005) Resolucao CONAMA n°357 Republíca Federativa do Brasil, Brasília, DF, 17 March 2005, p 58–63. http://www.bdlaw.com/assets/htmldocuments/CONAMA%20Resolution%20357%20of%202005.pdf. Accessed 18 March 2014
Apitz S, White S (2003) A conceptual framework for river-basin-scale sediment management. J Soils Sedim 3:132–138
Bailey TC, Barcellos C, Krzanowski WJ (2005) Use of spatial factors in the analysis of heavy metals in sediments in a Brazilian coastal region. Environmetrics 16:563–572
Balkis N, Aksu A, Okus E, Apak R (2010) Heavy metal concentrations in water, suspended matter, and sediment from Gökova Bay, Turkey. Environ Monit Assess 167:359–370
Barcellos C, Rezende CE, Pfeiffer WC (1991) Zn and Cd production and pollution in a Brazilian coastal region. Mar Bull 22:558–561
Behrendt H (1993) Point and diffuse load of selected pollutants in the Rhine river and its main tributaries. RR-93-1. IIASA, Laxenburg
Bilotta GS, Brazier RE (2008) Understanding the influence of suspended solids on water quality and aquatic biota. Water Res 42:2849–2861
Blaser P, Zimmermann S, Luster J, Shotyk W (2000) Critical examination of trace element enrichments and depletions in soils: As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in Swiss forest soils. Sci Total Environ 249:257–280
Börnick H, Steiniger B, Worch E, Abbt-Braun G, Majewsky M, Frimmel FH, Tröster M, Cavalcanti CPM, Cavalcanti CBG, Brandão CCS (2013) Water quality of tropical reservoirs in a changing world—the case of Lake Paranoá, Brasília, Brazil. In: Borchardt W, Ibisch RB (eds) Integrated water resources management in a changing world: lessons learnt and innovative perspectives. IWA Publishing, London, p 225
Brils J (2004) Sediment monitoring under EU Water Framework Directive. J Soils Sedim 4:72–73
Burak DL, Fontes MPF, Santos NT, Monteiro LVS, Martins EDS, Becquer T (2010) Geochemistry and spatial distribution of heavy metals in Oxisols in a mineralized region of the Brazilian Central Plateau. Geoderma 160:131–142
Casper ST (2008) Regulatory frameworks for sediment management. In: Owens PN (ed) Sustainable management of sediment resources: sediment management at the river basin scale. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 55–81
CETESB (2001) Reatorio de estabelecimento de Valores Orientadores para Solos e Àguas Subterrâneas no Estado Sao Paulo. CETESB
CETESB (2005) Decisao de directoria n° 195-2005—Aprovacao dos Valores Orientadores para Solos e Agua Subterraneas no Estado de Sao Paulo. CETESB, Sao Paulo
Companhia de Saneamento Ambiental do Distrito Federal (1976) Internal Report, CAESB (unpublished)
Companhia de Saneamento Ambiental do Distrito Federal (2010) Internal Report, CAESB (unpublished)
Copper Development Association (1982) http://www.nickelinstitute.org/~/Media/Files/TechnicalLiterature/Copper_NickelAlloys_PropertiesandApplications_12007_.pdf. Accessed 15 Oct 2013
Da Anunciação YMT, Walde DH-G, da Rocha RP (2014) Observed summer weather regimes and associated extreme precipitation over Distrito Federal, West-Central Brazil. Environ Earth Sci. doi:10.1007/s12665-014-3340-4
De Carvalho Oliveira VC, Makeschin F, Sano E, Lorz C (2014) Physical and chemical analyses of bare soil sites in Western Central Brazil—a case study. Environ Earth Sci. doi:10.1007/s12665-014-3103-2
De Carvalho JC, Sales MM, de Souza NM, da Silva Melo MT (2006) Processos Erosivos no Cento-Oeste Brasileiro, Brasília. In: FINATEC (ed), Brasília, p 464
DIN ISO 10390 (2005): Bodenbeschaffenheit—Bestimmung des pH-Wertes. Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V
DIN ISO 14869-1 (2003) Bodenbeschaffenheit—Aufschlussverfahren zur nachfolgenden Bestimmung von Elementgesamtgehalten. Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V
DIN 19683 Blatt 2 Physikalische Laboruntersuchungen (1973) Bestimmung der Korngrößen-zusammensetzung nach Vorbehandlung mit Natriumpyrophosphat. Beuth-Vertrieb GmbH Berlin and Cologne
Duh JD, Shandas V, Chang H, George LA (2008) Rates of urbanization and the resilience of air and water quality. Sci Total Environ 400:238–256
Echeverria RM (2007) Avaliação de impactos ambientais nos tributários do lago Paranoá, Brasília-DF. 2007. 132 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Geologia)-Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, p 121
Fernandes HM, Bidone ED, Veiga (1994) Heavy-metal pollution assessment in the coastal lagoons of Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Environ Pollut 85:259–264
Filipek I, Owen R (1979) Geochemical associations and grain size portioning of heavy metals in lacustrine sediments. Chem Geol 26:105–117
Fonseca FO (org) (2001) Olhares sobre o Lago Paranoá. Ed. SEMARAH Brasília, p 420
Förstner U (2002) Sediments and the European Water Framework Directive. J Soils Sedim 2:54–55
Förstner U, Müller G (1974) Schwermetalle in Flüssen und Seen. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York
Förstner U, Wittmann GTW (1981) Metal pollution in the aquatic environment. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York
Foster IDL, Charlesworth SM (1996) Heavy metals in the hydrological cycle: trends and explanation. Hydrol Process 10:227–261
Franz C, Makeschin F, Roig HL, Schubert M, Weiß H, Lorz C (2012) Sediment characteristics and sedimentation rates of a small river in Western Central Brazil. Environ Earth Sci 65:1601–1611
Franz C, Makeschin F, Weiß H, Lorz C (2013a) Sediments in urban river basins: Identification of sediment sources within the Lago Paranoá catchment, Brasília DF, Brazil—using the fingerprinting approach. Sci Total Environ 466–467:513–523
Franz C, Makeschin F, Weiß H, Lorz C (2013b) Geochemical signature and properties of sediment sources and alluvial sediments within the Lago Paranoá catchment, Brasília DF: a study on anthropogenic introduced chemical elements in an urban river basin. Sci Total Environ 452–453:411–420
Freitas-Silva FH, Campos JEG (1998) Mapa geologico do Distrito Federal em format vetorial, na escala 1:100.000. Instituto de Geosciencias da Universidade de Brasília. IEMA/SEMATEC/UnB. Brasília, DF
Gioia SMCL, Pimentel MM, Tessler M, Dantas EL, Campos JEG, Guimaraes EM, Maruoka MTS, Nascimento ELC (2006) Sources of anthropogenic lead in sediments from an artificial lake in Brasília—Central Brazil. Sci Total Environ 356:125–142
Gomes FC, Godoy JM, Godoy MLDP, Crlvalho ZL, Lopes RT, Sanchez-Cabeza JA, Lacerda LD, Wassermann JC (2009) Metal concentrations, fluxes, inventories and chronologies in sediments from Sepetiba and Ribeira Bays: a comparative study. Mar Pollut Bull 59:123–133
Gonçalves TD, Roig HL, Campos JEG (2009) Sistema de informação geográfica como ferramenta de apoio á outorga dos recursos hídricos subterrâneos no Distrito Federal. Revista Brasileira de Geociências 39:169–180
Granier L, Chevreuil M, Carru AM, Létolle R (1990) Urban runoff pollution by organochlorines (polychlorinated biphenyls and lindane) and heavy metals (lead, zinc and chromium). Chemosphere 21:1101–1107
Horowitz AJ (2008) Determining annual suspended sediment and sediment-associated trace element and nutrient fluxes. Sci Total Environ 400:315–343
Horowitz AJ, Elrick K (1987) The relation of stream sediment surface area, grain size and composition to trace element chemistry. Appl Geochem 2:437–451
Horowitz AJ, Stephens VC (2008) The effects of land use on fluvial sediment chemistry for the conterminous US—results from the first cycle of the NAWQA Program: trace and minor elements, phosphorus, carbon, and sulphur. Sci Total Environ 400:290–314
Impellitteri CA, Lu Y, Saxe JK, Allen HE, Peijnenburg WJGM (2002) Correlation of partitioning of dissolved organic matter fractions with the desorption of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn from 18 Dutch soils. Environ Int 28:401–410
Irvine K, Rerelli MF, Ngoen-Klan R, Droppo I (2009) Metal levels in street sediment from an industrial city: spatial trends, chemical fractionation, and management implications. J. Soils Sedim 9:328–341
Jordão CP, Pereira JL, Jham JL (1997) Chromium contamination in sediment, vegetation and fish caused by tanneries in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Sci Total Environ 207:1–11
Karez CS, Magalhaes VF, Pfeiffer WC, Amado Filho GM (1994) Trace metal accumulation by algae in Sepetiba Bay, Brazil. Environ Pollut 83:351–356
Kochhann D, Behr ER, de Chaves A, Mesko MF, Dressler VL, Flores EMM, Baldisserotto B (2013) Environmental quality evaluation of the Vacacai River, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. J Environ Earth Sci 70:1727–1733
Lacerda LD, Molisani MM (2006) Three decades of Cd and ZN contamination in Sepetiba Bay, SE Brazil: evidence from the mangrove oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae. Mar Pollut Bull 52:974–977
Laidlaw MAS, Filipeli GM (2008) Resuspension of urban soils as a persistent source of lead poisoning in children: a review and new directions. Appl Geochem 23:2021–2039
Machado W, Moscatelli M, Rezende LG, Lacerda LD (2002) Mercury, zinc, and copper accumulation in mangrove sediments surrounding a large landfill in southeast Brazil. Environ Pollut 120:455–461
Maia PD (2003) Estudo geoquímico de metais no Lago Paranoá - DF. Dissertation - Universidade de Brasília, p 107
Maia PD, Boaventura GR, Pires ACB (2006) Distrubuicao espacials de elementos-traco em sedimentos do Lago Paranoá—DF, Brasil. Geochimica Brasiliensis 20:158–174
Marques JJ, Schulze DG, Curi N, Mertzman SA (2003) Major element geochemistry and geomorphic relationship in Brazilian Cerrado soils. Geoderma 119:179–195
Melamed R, Villas Bôas RC, Gonçalves GO, Paiva EC (1997) Mechanisms of physico-chemical interaction of mercury with river sediments from a gold mining region in Brazil—relative mobility of mercury species. J Geochem Explor 58:119–124
Menezes PHBJ (2010) Avaliação do Efeito das ações autrópicas no processo de escoamento superficial e assoreamento na bacia do Lago Paranoá, Dissertação de Mestrado. IG-UnB, Brasílía 158
Molisani MM, Kjerfve B, Barreto R, Lacerda LD (2007) Land-sea mercury transport through a modified watershed, SE Brazil. Water Res 41:1929–1938
Monteiro W, Dias MLF (1980) Distribuição de molus-cos pulmonados aquáticos e identificação dos planor-bídeos da Bacia do Lago Paranoá, Brasília (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Rev Braz Biol 40:67–74
Moreira JC (1996) Threats by heavy metals: human and environmental contamination in Brazil. Sci Total Environ 188:61–71
Moreira RCA (2002) Padrao de referência geoquímico regional para a interpretacao das concentracoes de elementos químicos em sedimentos na bacía do Lago Paranoá - DF. Dissertation - Geology - Universidade de Brasília, p 94
Moreira RCA, Boaventura GR (2003) Referencia geoquimica regional para a interpretacao das concentracoes de elementos quimicos sedimentos da Bacia do Lagos Paranoá—DF. Quim Nova 26:1–8
Oliveira PS, Marquis RJ (2002) The Cerrados of Brazil. Columbia University Press, New York, p 396
Owens PN (2005) Conceptual models and budgets for sediment management at the river basin scale. J Soil Sedim 5:201–212
Owens PN (2008) Sediment behaviour functions and management in river basins. In: Owens PN (ed) Sustainable management of sediment resources: sediment management at the river basin scale. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 1–29
Owens PN, Batalla RJ, Collins AJ, Gomez B, Hicks DM, Horowitz AJ, Kondolf GM, Marden M, Page MJ, Peacock DH, Petticrew EL, Salomons W, Trustrum NA (2005) Fine-grained sediment in river systems: environmental significance and management issues. River Res Appl 21:693–717
Padovesi-Fonseca C, de Mendonca-Galvao L, Rocha DLP (2002) Temporal fluctuation and reproduction of Thermocyclops decipiens (Copepoda, Cyclopoida) in an eutrophic lake of central Bazil. Rev Biol Trop 50:57–68
PGIRH (2006) Plano de gerenciamento integrado de recursos hídricos do Distrito Federal PGIRH/DF, V. 1-6. GDF Brasília, Secretaria de Infra-Estructura e Obras
Poleto C, Charlesworth S (2010) Sedimentology of aqueous systems. Wiley-Blackwell, London
Poleto C, Merten G, Minella JP (2009) The identification of sediment sources in a small urban watershed in southern Brazil: an application of sediment fingerprinting. Environ Technol 30:1145–1153
Rocha AJA (1994) Caracterização limnológica do Distrito FederalIn. In: Pinto MN (ed) Cerrado: caracterização, ocupação e perspectivas. EDUNB, Brasília, pp 469–492
Salomons W, Förstner U (1984) Metals in the hydrocycle. Springer, New York
Savenko VS (2006) Chemical composition of worlds river’s suspended matter. GEOS, Moscow
Sun Y, Chi P, Shiue M (2001) Comparison of different digestion methods for total decomposition of siliceous and organic environmental samples. Anal Sci 17:1395–1399
Taylor KG (2007) Urban environments. In: Perry CT, Taylor KG (eds) Environmental sedimentology. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 191–222
Taylor KG, Owens PN (2009) Sediments in urban river basins: a review of sediment-contaminant dynamics in an environmental system conditioned by human activities. J Soil Sedim 9:281–303
Thorne L, Nickless G (1981) The relation between heavy metals and particle size fractions within the Severn estuary (UK) inter-tidal sediments. Sci Total Environ 19:207–213
Viers J, Dupre B, Gaillardet J (2009) Chemical composition of suspended sediment in World Rivers: new insights from new database. Sci Total Environ 407:853–868
Villas Bôas RC (1997) The mercury problem in Amazon due to gold extraction. J Geochem Explor 58:217–222
Walling DE, Owens PN, Carter J, Leeks GJL, Lewis S, Meharg AA, Wright J (2003) Storage of sediment-associated nutrients and contaminants in river channels and floodplain systems. Appl Geochem 18:195–220
WMO—World Meteorological Organization (2010) World Weather Information Service Brasília. http://www.worldweather.org/136/c00290.html. Accessed 15 Jan 2013
Wong CSC, Li X, Thornton I (2006) Urban environmental geochemistry of trace metals. Environ Pollut 142:1–16
Acknowledgments
The study is part of the project IWAS-ÁGUA DF funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in frame of the joint program “International Water Research Alliance Saxony (IWAS)—Management of Water Resources in Hydrological Sensitive World Regions” (FKZ 02WM1165/66 and 02WM1070) and linked to the project “Avaliacão do efeito de acões antropicas na dinâmica hidrossedimentológia e no suprimento de aqua do Distrito Federal visando o desenvolvimento sustentável” funded by the Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAP-DF). For technical and research support we would like to thank P.H. Menezes and M. Majewsky, and for the support during the sampling C. P. M. Cavalcanti and C. B. G. Cavalcanti.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Franz, C., Abbt-Braun, G., Lorz, C. et al. Assessment and evaluation of metal contents in sediment and water samples within an urban watershed: an analysis of anthropogenic impacts on sediment and water quality in Central Brazil. Environ Earth Sci 72, 4873–4890 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3454-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3454-8