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Seasonal Variation and Contamination Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediment of an Estuary Alluvial Island in Eastern China

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Abstract

The heavy metal pollution of estuary wetlands caused by industrial and agricultural production activities has aroused widespread concern. The Hakanson Pollution index, Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and Redundancy analysis were used to explore the seasonal variation and contamination risk of heavy metals in surface sediments. Results showed that the heavy metal concentrations were ranked in descending order: Cd > Cu > Zn > Pb > Cr. The analysis result of HPI and Igeo showed that there was a low level of heavy metal contamination both in summer and winter. Redundancy analysis showed that the correlation between heavy metals and physicochemical properties of sediment was significantly different in winter and summer. Our findings provide scientific support for the prevention of heavy metal pollution in estuary wetlands.

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Acknowledgements

His work was supported by the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fishery Ecology and Environment (No: FEEL-2017). The authors are very grateful to the members of the research group for their enthusiastic help and guidance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anhui Academy of Environmental Science, Hefei, 230022, China

    Yafeng Liu

  2. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Yafeng Liu, Jiaxun Sun, Menglu Zhao, Yiyao Ni, Xiangrong Wang & Zhengqiu Fan

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  1. Yafeng Liu
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  2. Jiaxun Sun
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  3. Menglu Zhao
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  4. Yiyao Ni
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  5. Xiangrong Wang
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  6. Zhengqiu Fan
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Correspondence to Zhengqiu Fan.

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Liu, Y., Sun, J., Zhao, M. et al. Seasonal Variation and Contamination Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediment of an Estuary Alluvial Island in Eastern China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 108, 337–343 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-021-03413-2

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