Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Metal contamination in Sunairi Point sediment core along Karachi coast, Pakistan

  • Published:
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper describes the pollution level in sediment core collected from Sunairi Point of Karachi coastal area Pakistan. The sediment was characterized in terms of particle size, pH, total organic carbon, calcium carbonate, metals and mineralogical composition of sediments. The metals were determined using proton induced X-ray emission. It appeared from the results of grain size that sediment of core was mainly sandy in nature and neutral pH was observed throughout the core. The calcium carbonate in the core sediment seemed to be dependent on the pH outline of the sediment. The results of heavy metals in the sediment core indicated a significant upward enrichment in heavy metals with the highest concentrations found in the upper most layer sediments, may be due to anthropogenic activities, which could be the cause of upward enrichment in heavy metals. The pollution load index values, although showed no pollution, but showing an increasing trend from bottom to top in core, may be due to the influence of anthropogenic sources. The average geo-accumulation index values for sediment core showed that sediments were moderately polluted with Co and Pb. The results of sediment quality guidelines of United States Environmental Protection Agency, indicated, sediment of core was moderately polluted with Ni and Zn. It was concluded from the guidelines that heavy metals in sediment may cause danger to aquatic life. It was also inferred from the study that Sunairi Point area of Karachi coast is facing moderately metals pollution which increased with time.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. GESAMP (2001) IMO/FAO/UNESCO/WHO/WMO/IAEA/ UNDP joint group of experts on the scientific aspects of marine pollution (GESAMP): Reports and studies no. 71, protecting the oceans from land-based activities, land base sources and activities affecting the quality and uses of the marine, coastal and associated freshwater environment

  2. Goldberg ED (1992) Marine metal pollutants: a small set. Mar Pollut Bull 14:45–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Szefer P, Szefer K, Hallera GJ, Glasby GP, Pempkowsak J, Kaliszan R (1996) Heavy metal pollution in surficial sediment from the Southern Baltic Sea of Poland. J Environ Sci Health Part A 33:2723–2754

    Google Scholar 

  4. Krishna K, Mohan KR, Murthy NN (2011) A multivariate statistical approach for monitoring of heavy metals in sediment: A case study from wailpalli watershed, Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh. India Environ Earth Sci 3(2):103–113

    Google Scholar 

  5. Ramirez M, Serena M, Frache R, Correa J (2005) Metal speciation and environmental impact on sandy beaches due to El Salvador copper mine. Chile Mar Pollut Bull 50:62–72

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Cardoso A, Boaventura G, Silva E, Brod J (2001) Metal distribution in sediment from the Ribiera bay, Rio de Janeiro—Brazil. J Braz Chem Soc 12(6):767–774

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Jones B, Turki A (1997) Distribution and speciation of heavy metals in surficial sediment from the Tees Estuary, north-east England. Mar Pollut Bull 34:768–779

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Al-Saad HT, Mostafa YZ, Al-Imarah FJ (1997) Distribution of trace metals in tissues of fish from Shatt Al-Arab Estuary, Iraq. Mesoamerican Reef 11:15–25

    Google Scholar 

  9. Beiras R, Bellas J, Fernandez N, Lorenzo JI, Cobela-Garcia A (2003) Assessment of coastal marine pollution in Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula) metal concentrations in seawater, sediment and mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) verus embryo-larval bioassays using Paracentrotus lividus and Ciona intestinalis. Mar Environ Res 56:531–553

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Caccia VG, Millero FJ, Palanques A (2003) The distribution of trace metals in Florida Bay sediment Mar. Pollut Bull 46:1420–1433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Aprile FM, Bouvy M (2008) Distribution and enrichment of heavy metals in sediment at the Tapacura River Basin, North eastern Brazil. Braz J Aquat Sci Tech 12(1):1–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Nergis Y, Sharif M, Farooq Choudhry A, Hussain A, Butt AJ (2012) Impact of industrial and sewage effluents on Karachi coastal water and sediment quality, middle-east. J Sci Res 11(10):1443–1454

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Mashiatulla A, Chaudhary MZ, Ahmad N, Qureshi RM, Javed T, Ghaffar A, Khan MS (2011) Metal pollution assessment in sediment of Karachi Coast. Pak Nucl 48(3):223–230

    Google Scholar 

  14. Chaudhary MZ, Ahmad N, Mashiatullah A, Ahmad N, Ghaffar A (2013) Geochemical assessment of metal concentrations in sediment core of Korangi Creek along Karachi Coast. Pak Environ Monit Assess 185:6677–6691

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hasnie FR, Qureshi NA (2002) Quantification of pollution load in wastewater channels of village Rehri draining in to Korangi Creek. Pak Steel Res J 3:47–54

    Google Scholar 

  16. Saleem M, Kazi GH (1998) Concentration and distribution of heavy metals (lead, cadmium, copper, nickel, zinc) in Karachi shore and off shore sediment. Pak J Mar Sci 7:71–79

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kumar SP, Edward JKP (2009) Assessment of metal concentration in the sediment cores of Manakudy estuary, south west coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 38(2):235–248

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Mashiatullah A, Qureshi RM, Ahmad N, Khalid F, Javed T (2009) Physico-chemical and biological water quality of Karachi coastal water. Nucl 46(1–2):53–59

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Siddique A, Mumtaz M, Zaigham NA, Mallick KA, Saied S, Zahir E, Khwaja HA (2009) Heavy metal toxicity levels in the coastal sediment of the Arabian Sea along the urban Karachi (Pakistan) region. Baseline/ Mar Pollut Bull 58:1406–1419

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Zaigham NA (2004) Unauthorized squatter settlements are one of major sources for polluting surface and subsurface waters in Karachi, Proceedings of the WSSD workshop on human settlement and environment (Pakistan’s response to its obligations under the WSSD plan of implementation), Islamabad, December 14–15, pp 100–112

  21. Rizvi SHN, Saleem M, Baquer J (1988) Steel mill effluents: influence on the Bakran Creek environment. In: Thompson MF, Tirmizi NM (Eds). Proceedings of marine science of the Arabian Sea. American Institutes of Biological Sciences, Washington, DC, pp. 549–569.

  22. Bano F (1999) A study of physical and major chemical constituents of Malir river (within Karachi) to determine the extent of pollution, PhD thesis, Karachi University, pp 1–4

  23. Folk RL, Ward WC (1957) Brazos river bar: a study in the significance of grain size parameters. J Sediment Petrol 27(1):3–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Allison LE (1965) Organic carbon. In: Black DD, Evans JL, White LE, Clark FE (eds) Methods of soil analysis. American Society of Agronomy Wisconsin, pp 1372–1378

  25. Loring DH, Rantala RTT (1992) Manual for the geochemical analyses of marine sediment and suspended particulate matter. Earth-Sci Rev 32:235–283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Mashiatullah A, Chaudhary MZ, Ahmad N, Ahmad N, Javed T, Ghaffar A (2015) Geochemical assessment of metal pollution and ecotoxicology in sediment cores along Karachi coast Pakistan. Environ Monit Assess 187:249–264

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Baptista Neto JA, Smith BJ, McAllister JJ (2000) Heavy metal concentrations in surface sediment in a nearshore environment, Jurujuba Sound. Southeast Brazil Environ Pollut 109(1):1–9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Mucha AP, Vasconcelos MTSD, Bordalo AA (2003) Macrobenthic community in the Doura estuary: Relations with trace metals and natural sediment characteristics. Environ Pollut 121(2):169–180

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Turekian KK, Wedepohl KH (1961) Distribution of the elements in some major units of the earth’s crust. Geol Soc Am Bull 72(2):175–192

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Ergin M, Saydam C, Basturk O, Erdem E, Yoruk R (1991) Heavy metal concentrations in surface sediment from the two coastal inlets (Golden Horn Estuary and Izmit Bay) of the north eastern Sea of Marmara. Chem Geol 91(3):269–285

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Birch G (2003) A scheme for assessing human impacts on costal aquatic environments using sediment. In: Woodcoffee CD, Furness RA (eds) Costal GIS. Wollongong University papers in Center for Maritime Policy, 14, Australia

  32. Lina F, Nayak GN, Ilangovan D (2012) Geochemical assessment of metal concentrations in mangrove sediment along Mumbai coast India. World Acad Sci Eng Technol 61:258–263

    Google Scholar 

  33. Wedepohl KH (1995) The composition of continental crust. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 59:1217–1233

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Hakanson L (1980) Ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control: a sedimentological approach. Water Res 14(5):975–1001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Tomilson DC, Wilson DJ, Harris CR, Jeffrey DW (1980) Problems in the assessment of heavy-metal levels in estuaries and the formation of a pollution index. Helgol Mar Res 33(1–4):566–575

    Google Scholar 

  36. Muller G (1969) Index of geo-accumulation in sediment of the Rhine River. Geol J 2(3):108–118

    Google Scholar 

  37. Karbassi AR, Nabi-Bidhendi GR, Bayati I (2005) Environmental geochemistry of heavy metals in a sediment core off Bushehr, ersian Gulf. Iran J Environ Health Sci Eng 2:255–260

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Pederson F, Bjorestad E, Anderson HV, Kjolholt J, Poll C (1998) Characterization of sediment from Copenhagen harbour by use of biotests. Water Sci Technol 37(6–7):233–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Zar JH (1996) Bio statistical Analysis, 3rd edn. Prentice-Hall, NJ, USA

    Google Scholar 

  40. Jain CK, Singhal DC, Sharma MK (2005) Metal pollution assessment of sediment and water in the river- Hindon, Indian Environ. Monit Assess 105:193–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Aitchison J (1986) The statistical analysis of compositional data. Chapman and Hall, London-New York, p 416

    Book  Google Scholar 

  42. Veerasingam S, Venkatachalapathy R, Ramkumar T (2014) Distribution of clay minerals in marine sediment off Chennai, Bay of Bengal, India: indicators of sediment sources and transport processes. Int J Sediment Res 29:11–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. McKay JL, Pedersen TF, Mucci A (2007) Sedimentary redox conditions in continental margin sediment (NE Pacific): influence on the accumulation of redox-sensitive trace metals. Chem Geol 238(3–4):180–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Gambrell RP (1994) Trace and toxic metals in Wetlands: a review. J Environ Qual 23:883–891

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Schlinder PW (1991) The regulation of heavy metal concentrations in natural aquatic systems. In: Vernet J-P (ed) heavy metals in the environment 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 95–124

    Google Scholar 

  46. Martin WR, Sayles FL (1996) CaCO3 dissolution in sediments of the Ceara Rise, western equatorial pacific. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 60:243–263

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Smith WR (2000) Calcite precipitation and trace metal partitioning in ground water and the vodose zone: remediation of strontium-90 and other divalent metals and radionuclides in arid western environments. Project ID 70206, EMSP Project Book, pp 168–170

  48. Natesan U, Kumar MM, Depthi K (2014) Anthropogenic effects on sediment quality of Muthupet mangroves: assessing the sediment core geochemical record. Indian J Mar Sci 43(6):1045–1054

    Google Scholar 

  49. Muthuraj S, Jayaprakash M (2008) Distribution and enrichment of trace metals in marine sediment of Bay of Benagal, off Ennore, south east coast of India. Environ Geol 56:207–217

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Usui T, Nagao S, Yamamoto M, Suzuki K, Kudo I, Montani S, Noda A, Minagawa M (2006) Distribution and sources of organic matter in surficial sediments on the shelf and slope off Tokachi, western North Pacific, inferred from C and N stable isotopes and C/N ratios. Mar Chem 98:241–259

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Renghunath R, Sareedhara Murthy STR (1996) Carbonate and organic matter studies of the shelf sediments off Kasargod, west coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 25:355–357

    Google Scholar 

  52. Hedges JI, Keil RG (1995) Sedimentary organic matter preservation: an assessment and speculative synthesis. Mar Chem 49:81–115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Canfield DE (1994) Factors influencing organic carbon preservation in marine sediments. Chem Geol 114:315–329

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Meyers PA, Ishiwater R (1993) Lacustrine organic geochemistry: an overview of organic matter sources and diagenesis in lake sediments. Org Geochem 20(7):867–900

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Henrichs SM (1992) Early diagenesis of organic matter in marine sediments-progress and perplexity. Mar Chem 39:119–149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Kemp ALW, Johnston LM (1979) Diagenises of organic matter in the sediments of Lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron. J Great Lakes Res 5:1–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Venkatachalapathy R, Veerasinga S, Basavaiah N, Ramkumar T, Deenadayalan K (2011) Environmental magnetic and petroleum hydrocarbons records in sediment cores from the north east coast of Tamilnadu, Bay of Bengal. India Mar Pollut Bull 62:681–690

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Brown G, Brindly GW (1984) X-ray diffraction procedures for clay mineral identification: In: Brindly GW, Brown G (eds) Crystal structure of clay minerals and their identification, pp 305–360

  59. Veerasingam S, Venkatachalapathy R, Ramkumar T (2014) Distribution of clay minerals in marine sediment off Chennai, Bay of Bengal, India: Indicators of sediment sources and transport processes. Int J Sedim Res 29:11–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Ekwere SJ (1992) Geochemical studies of sediments in Qua Iboe estuary associated creeks, south eastern Nigeria. Trop J Appl Sci 2:91–95

    Google Scholar 

  61. Veerasingam S, Venkatachalapathy R, Ramkumar T (2012) Heavy metals and ecological risk assessment in marine sediment of Chennai. India Carpathian J Earth Environ Sci 7(2):111–124

    Google Scholar 

  62. Singh JK, Kumar P, Kumar R (2020) Ecological risk assessment of heavy metal contamination in mangrove forest sediment of Gulf of Khambhat region, West Coast of India, SN Applied Sciences

  63. Nour HES (2019) Distribution ecological risk, and source analysis of heavy metal in recent beach sediments of Sharm El – Sheikh, Egypt. Environ Monit Assess 191:546

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Perin G, Bonardi M, Fabris R, Simoncini B, Manente S, Tosi L, Scotto S (1997) Heavy metal pollution in central Venice Lagoon bottom sediments, evaluation of the metal bioavailability by geochemical speciation procedure. Environ Technol 18:593–604

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are highly thankful to Head IAD, Director Technology and Director General PINSTECH for providing financial support to conduct this research work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Isotope Application Division, PINSTECH, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Zaman Chaudhary, Azhar Mashiatullah, Nadeem Yaqoob &  Um-e-Robab

  2. Institute of Geology, University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

    Nasir Ahmad

Authors
  1. Muhammad Zaman Chaudhary
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nasir Ahmad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Azhar Mashiatullah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nadeem Yaqoob
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Um-e-Robab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhammad Zaman Chaudhary.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chaudhary, M.Z., Ahmad, N., Mashiatullah, A. et al. Metal contamination in Sunairi Point sediment core along Karachi coast, Pakistan. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 328, 605–615 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07666-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07666-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation