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Identifying trace metal distribution and occurrence in sediments, inundated soils, and non-flooded soils of a reservoir catchment using Self-Organizing Maps, an artificial neural network method

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Abstract

The Lancang-Mekong River is a trans-boundary river which provides a livelihood for over 60 million people in Southeast Asia. Its environmental security is vital to both local and regional inhabitants. Efforts have been undertaken to identify controlling factors of the distribution of trace metals in sediments and soils of the Manwan Reservoir catchment in the Lancang-Mekong River basin. The physicochemical attributes of 63 spatially distributed soil and sediment samples, along with land-use, flooding, topographic, and location characteristics, were analyzed using the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) methodology. The SOM permits the analysis of complex multivariate datasets and gives a visual interpretation that is generally not easy to obtain using traditional statistical methods. Across the catchment, enrichments of trace metals are rare overall, despite the severely enriched cadmium (Cd). The analysis of SOM showed that flooded levels and land-use types were associated with high concentrations of Cd. Sediments and inundated soils covered with shrub and open woodlands in downstream always have a high concentration of Cd. The results demonstrate that SOM is a useful tool that can aid in the interpretation of complex datasets and help identify the environment of enriched metals on a catchment scale.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Project (Grant No. 2016YFC0502103) and the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41571173 and 41530635).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Fangyan Cheng, Shiliang Liu, Yijie Yin, Yueqiu Zhang, Qinghe Zhao & Shikui Dong

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  1. Fangyan Cheng
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  2. Shiliang Liu
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  3. Yijie Yin
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  4. Yueqiu Zhang
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  5. Qinghe Zhao
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  6. Shikui Dong
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Correspondence to Shiliang Liu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Cheng, F., Liu, S., Yin, Y. et al. Identifying trace metal distribution and occurrence in sediments, inundated soils, and non-flooded soils of a reservoir catchment using Self-Organizing Maps, an artificial neural network method. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 19992–20004 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9559-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9559-3

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