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Ecological risk assessment of the riverine and deltaic environments (Rozechai River, Urmia Lake, Iran), using sediment quality indices

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Abstract

Rozechai River is one of the tributaries of Urmia Lake (the nrthwest of Iran), which has experienced severe pollution and water level fluctuations in the coastal zone over the past four decades. The present study aimed to assess the ecological risk for aquatic life and human health. Research methods were designed for applying the sediment quality guidelines (LEL, PEL, SEL), sediment quality indices (Cf, Cd, Er, RI), and enrichment factor (EF) based on the concentration of toxic metals in sediments. Event-based geochronology of the sediment column showed that the high stands in the water level of the Urmia Lake (> 1274 m) occurred in 1983, 1989, and 1995. Thus, As, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, and Ni reached a moderate to considerable enrichment under the oxidation and alkaline condition. Consequently, a moderated level of ecological risk index (RI) was predominant between 1983 and 1999. The uppermost 35 cm of the sediment column was deposited during a severe drought period to which H2S bearing water and reducing status contributed. In such conditions, the low ecological risk was resulted in the basin due to the lower rate of the toxic metal influx. The industrial, urban, and agricultural wastewaters contributed to the release of toxic metals and the dominance of moderate to considerable enrichment, which led to a moderate ecological risk at the coastal zone of the Rozechai River. The sediment column of the deltaic area has experienced a mean sedimentation rate of 1.66 cm year−1 since 1982.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors offer the sincerest gratitude to the staff of the technical division of SCWMRI for their help in sampling, sample preparation, and analysis and appreciate the West-Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center for their field studies supports.

Funding

The study was supported by the Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute of Iran (SCWMRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran (Grant Number [0–29-29–017-960426]).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammadreza Gharibreza & Nezam Asgharipour Dashte-Bozorg

  2. West-Azarbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Urmia, Iran

    Mansour Mehdizadeh

  3. Department of Geology, Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas BranchBandar Abbas, Iran

    Hamidreza Masoumi

  4. Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Research Institute of Forest and Rangelands, Tehran, Iran

    Sakineh Lotfinasabasl

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  1. Mohammadreza Gharibreza
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Correspondence to Mohammadreza Gharibreza.

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Gharibreza, M., Mehdizadeh, M., Masoumi, H. et al. Ecological risk assessment of the riverine and deltaic environments (Rozechai River, Urmia Lake, Iran), using sediment quality indices. Environ Monit Assess 194, 447 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10124-6

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