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Spatial variations in grain size distribution and selected metal contents in the Xiamen Bay, China

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

The present work attempts to describe the spatial distribution of heavy metals in the surficial sediments of the Xiamen Bay influencing by the characters of the sediments. In this paper, the distribution of trace metals, as well as the main properties (i.e. grain size, TOC, AVS) based on surface sediments collected at 40 stations across the Xiamen Bay was done. The relation of the sediment properties to heavy metal concentrations was evaluated with Pearson’s correlation analysis. According to the grain size distribution, cluster analysis is used to classify the sampling stations into groups regarding the depositional environment. Basing on the data, the hydrodynamic feature and the contamination of surface sediment by selected metals were discussed. The results show that the distribution of various types of sediments and the variations of their concentrations of heavy metals are controlled largely by the hydrodynamic conditions. As for the surface sediments, Xiamen West Harbour shows a serious situation with Arsenic, Pb and Zn.

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Acknowledgments

Our thanks to Binbin Lan, Weiguo Wang (Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration) for assistance with the sample collection, and to Bin Zhai (Department of Marine Geochemistry, Ocean University of China) for their help in samples analyses. This work was funded, in part by the Sixth Framework Program, Sustainable Option for People, Catchment and Aquatic Resources (INCO-CT-2004-510706) and expansion project of Xiamen harbour.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Geochemistry, College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266100, China

    Guihai Li, Zhimin Cao, Shanshan Wang & Weihan Yin

  2. Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Dongzhao Lan & Jiang Xu

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  1. Guihai Li
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  2. Zhimin Cao
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  3. Dongzhao Lan
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  4. Jiang Xu
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  5. Shanshan Wang
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  6. Weihan Yin
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Correspondence to Zhimin Cao.

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Li, G., Cao, Z., Lan, D. et al. Spatial variations in grain size distribution and selected metal contents in the Xiamen Bay, China. Environ Geol 52, 1559–1567 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0600-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0600-y

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