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Spatial variations in heavy metals on tidal flats in the Yangtze Estuary, China

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Surface samples are used to determine onshore-offshore variations in heavy metal concentrations on tidal flats on Chongming and Hengsha Islands in the Yangtze Estuary, China. The Mann-Whitney U-Test suggests that proximity to the estuarine turbidity maximum does not result in significantly higher metal concentrations on tidal flats. Principal Components Analysis shows that grain-size is the primary control on metal concentrations, reflecting the occurrence of salt marsh and mud and sand flats. Sediment quality is comparable to that of pristine estuaries because of dilution by high river sediment loads.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank KC Tan and the Canadian International Development Agency for financial support. Meng Yang and Zhanghua Wang provided invaluable assistance with field and laboratory work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Parish Geomorphic, 10 Mountainview Road South, Suite 207, Georgetown, ON, L7G4J9, Canada

    S. Gorenc

  2. Department of Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    R. Kostaschuk

  3. State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China

    Z. Chen

Authors
  1. S. Gorenc
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  2. R. Kostaschuk
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  3. Z. Chen
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Correspondence to R. Kostaschuk.

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Gorenc, S., Kostaschuk, R. & Chen, Z. Spatial variations in heavy metals on tidal flats in the Yangtze Estuary, China. Env Geol 45, 1101–1108 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-0968-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-004-0968-5

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