Abstract
Two sediment cores representing adjacent mudflat and mangrove sub-environments from the middle region of Sharavati estuary were analyzed for sand, silt, clay and organic carbon at 2-cm interval. Metal concentration was also analyzed for all bulk sediment samples and selected samples for different sediment size fractions (sand (4Ø), medium silt (6Ø) and clay (8Ø) of both the cores for Aluminium (Al), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Cobalt (Co), and Chromium (Cr). The sediments of mudflat environment are found to be enriched with metals, organic carbon (OC) associated with finer sediments. However, the core collected from the mangrove environment showed higher coarser material. The association and degradation of organic matter played important role in distribution of metals in silt and clay fractions in mudflat core. The paper also discusses on source of sediments and process involved with time. Higher enrichment factor (EF) values of Zn in silt and clay fraction and Co in sand and silt fraction are observed in the mangrove core as compared to mudflat core, whereas, Cu is enriched in the silt and clay fraction of mudflat core. However, Cr was enriched in all the fractions of both the cores. Pollution load index (PLI) indicated higher metal enrichment in the clay fraction of both the cores.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackermann F (1980) A procedure for correcting the grain size effect in heavy metal analyses of estuarine and coastal sediments. Environ Technol Lett 1:518–527
Aloupi M, Angelidis MO (2002) The significance of coarse sediments in metal pollution studies in the coastal zone. Water Air Soil Pollut 133:121–131
Anuradha V, Nair SM, Kumar NC (2011) Humic acids from the sediments of three ecologically different estuarine systems—a comparison. Int J Environ Sci 2(1):174–184
Badr NB, El-Fiky AA, Mostafa AR, Al-Mur BA (2009) Metal pollution records in core sediments of some Red Sea coastal areas, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Environ Monit Assess 155:509–526
Caetano M, Prego R, Vale C, de Pablo H, Marmolejo-Rodriguez J (2009) Record of diagenesis of rare earth elements and other metals in a transitional sedimentary environment. Mar Chem 116:36–46
Calace N, Cardellicchio N, Petronio BM, Pietrantonio M, Pietroletti M (2006) Sedimentary humic substances in the northern Adriatic sea (Mediterranean sea). Mar Environ Res 61:40–58
Cuong DT, Bayen S, Wurl O, Subramanian K, Wong KK, Sivasothi N, Obbard JP (2005) Heavy metal contamination in mangrove habitats of Singapore. Mar Pollut Bull 50:1732–1738
Dessai DVG, Nayak GN, Basavaiah N (2009) Grain size, geochemistry, magnetic susceptibility: proxies in identifying sources and factors controlling distribution of metals in a tropical estuary, India. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 85:307–318
Fernandes L, Nayak GN, Ilangovan D, Borole DV (2011) Accumulation of sediment, organic matter and trace metals with space and time, in a creek along Mumbai coast, India. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 91:388–399
Folk RL (1968) Petrology of sedimentary rocks. Hemphills, Austin, p 177
Forstner U (1982) Cumulative phases for heavy metals in limnic systems. Hydrobiologia 91:299–313
Gibbs RJ (1977) Transport phases of transition metals in the Amazon and Yukon rivers. GSA Bull 88:829–843
Grant JA (1986) The Isocon diagram-a simple solution to Gresen’s equation for metasomatic alteration. Econ Geol 81:1976–1982
Jackson ML (1958) Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall, New York
Jonathan MP, Ram-Mohan V, Srinivasalu S (2004) Geochemical variations of major and trace elements in recent sediments, off the Gulf of Mannar, the southeast coast of India. Environ Geol 45:466–480. doi:10.1007/s00254-003-0898-7
Jones B, Turki A (1997) Distribution and speciation of heavy metals in surfacial sediments from the Tees Estuary, north-east England. Mar Pollut Bull 34(10):768–779
Klinkhammer G, Heggie DT, Graham DW (1982) Metal diagenesis in oxic marine sediments. Earth Planet Sci Lett 61:211–219
Kumar SP, Sheela MS (2014) Comparative study of textural and chemical characteristics of riverine and estuarine sediments of a bar built estuary in Tamil Nadu, India. Res J Chem Sci 4(3):27–31
Kumaran KP, Shindikar M, Limaye RB (2004) Mangrove associated lignite beds of Malvan, Konkan: evidence for higher sea-level during the Late Tertiary (Neogene) along the west coast of India. Curr Sci 86(2):335–340
Lin S, Hsieh IJ, Huang KM, Wang CH (2002) Influence of the Yangtze River and grain size on the spatial variations of heavy metals and organic carbon in the East China Sea continental shelf sediments. Chem Geol 182:377–394
Mikulic N, Orescanin V, Elez L, Pavicic L, Pezelj D, Lovrencic I, Lulic S (2008) Distribution of trace elements in the coastal sea sediments of Maslinica Bay, Croatia. Environ Geol 53:1413–1419. doi:10.1007/s00254-007-0750-6
Muzuka AN, Shaghude YW (2000) Grain size distribution along the Msasani Beach, north of Dar es Salaam Harbour. J Afr Earth Sci 30:417–426
Nair MMN, Ramchandran KK (2002) Textural and trace elemental distribution in sediments of Beypore estuary (SW coast of India) and adjoining innershelf. Indian J Mar Sci 31(4):295–304
Neto JAB, Gingele FX, Leipe T, Brehme I (2006) Spatial distribution of heavy metals in surficial sediments from Guanabara Bay: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Environ Geol 49:1051–1063
Nobi EP, Dilipan E, Thangaradjou T, Sivakumar K, Kannan L (2010) Geochemical and geo-statistical assessment of heavy metal concentration in the sediments of different coastal ecosystems of Andaman Islands, India. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 87:253–264
Pande A, Nayak GN (2013) Understanding distribution and abundance of metals with space and time in estuarine mudflat sedimentary environment. Environ Earth Sci 70:2561–2575. doi:10.1007/s12665-013-2298-y
Rajamanickam GV, Setty MGAP (1973) Distribution of phosphorus and organic carbon in the nearshore sediments of Goa. Indian J Mar Sci 2:84–89
Reef R, Feller IC, Lovelock CE (2010) Nutrition of mangroves. Tree Physiol 30:1148–1160. doi:10.1093/treephys/tpq048
Reineek HE (1972) Tidal flats. In: Rigby JK, Hamblin WK (eds.) Recognition of ancient sedimantary environments, Tulsa, Okla. Special Publication of Society of Economic Paleontology and Mineralogy 16: 146–159
Rosales-Hoz L, Cundy AB, Bahena-Manjarrez JL (2003) Heavy metals in sediment cores from a tropical estuary affected by anthropogenic discharges: Coatzacoalcos estuary, Mexico. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 58:117–126
Ruiz-Fernández AC, Hillaire-Marcel C, Ghaleb B, Soto-Jiménez M, Páez-Osuna F (2002) Recent sedimentary history of anthropogenic impacts on the Culiacan River Estuary, northwestern Mexico: geochemical evidence from organic matter and nutrients. Environ Pollut 118:365–377
Sarkar S, Ghosh PB, Sil AK, Saha T (2011) Heavy metal pollution assessment through comparison of different indices in sewage-fed fishery pond sediments at East Kolkata Wetland, India. Environ Earth Sci 63:915–924
Schulten HR, Schnitzer M (1995) Three-dimensional models for humic acids and soil organic matter. Naturwissenschaften 82:487–498
Singh KT, Nayak GN (2009) Sedimentary and Geochemical signatures of depositional environment of sediments in mudflats from a microtidal Kalinadi estuary, central west coast of India. J Coast Res 25(3):641–650
Soto-Jimenez MF, Paez-Osuna F (2001) Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in lagoonal sediments from Mazatlan Harbor (SE Gulf of California): bioavailability and geochemical fractioning. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 66:350–356
Spencer KL (2002) Spatial variability of metals in the inter-tidal sediments of the Medway Estuary, Kent, UK. Mar Pollut Bull 44:933–944
Spencer KL, Cundy AB, Croudace IW (2003) Heavy metal distribution and early diagenesis in salt marsh sediments from the Medway Estuary, Kent, UK. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 57:43–54
StatSoft (1999) Statistica computer programme, version 5.5. StatSoft, Tulsa, OK
Thomson J, Dyer FM, Croudace IW (2002) Records of radionuclide deposition in two salt marshes in the United Kingdom with contrasting redox and accumulation conditions. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 16:1011–1023
Tomlinson DL, Wilson JG, Hariis CR, Jeffrey DW (1980) Problems in the assessment of heavy metal levels in estuaries and the formation of a pollution index. Helgoländer Meeresun 33:566–575
Tribovillard N, Algeo T, Lyons T, Riboulleau A (2006) Trace metals as paleoredox and paleoproductivity proxies: an update. Chem Geol 232:12–32
Turekian KK, Wedepohl KH (1961) Distribution of the elements in some major units of the Earth’s crust. Geol Soc Am Bull 72:175–192
Volvoikar SP, Nayak GN (2013) Depositional environment and geochemical response of mangrove sediments from creeks of northern Maharashtra coast, India. Mar Pollut Bull 69:223–227
Volvoikar SP, Nayak GN (2014a) Factors controlling the distribution of metals in intertidal mudflat sediments of Vaitarna estuary, North Maharashtra coast. India Arab J Geosci. doi:10.1007/s12517-013-1162-4
Volvoikar SP, Nayak GN (2014b) Reading source and processes with time from mangrove sedimentary environment of Vaitarna estuary, west coast of India. Indian J Geo-Mar Sci 43:1063–1075
Walkley A (1947) A critical examination of a rapid method for determining organic carbon in soils: effects of variations in digestion conditions and organic soils constituents. Soil Sci 63:251–263
Wu Z, He M, Lin C, Fan Y (2011) Distribution and speciation of four heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Mn and Ni) in the surficial sediments from estuary in daliao river and yingkou bay. Environ Earth Sci 63:163–175
Zourarah B, Maanan M, Robin M, Carruesco C (2009) Sedimentary records of anthropogenic contribution to heavy metal content in Oum Er Bia estuary (Morocco). Environ Chem Lett 7:67–78. doi:10.1007/s10311-008-0138-1
Acknowledgments
One of the authors (Maria C. Fernandes) wishes to thank the University Grants Commission (UGC) for granting fellowship under the “Maulana Azad National Fellowship”.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fernandes, M.C., Nayak, G.N. Role of sediment size in the distribution and abundance of metals in a tropical (Sharavati) estuary, west coast of India. Arab J Geosci 9, 33 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-2127-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-015-2127-6