Abstract
The estuarine sediments were sampled seasonally along the southeast coast of the Black Sea, to assess the concentrations, sources, distributions, and possible ecological risks of trace elements (TEs). The mean concentrations of TEs (mg/kg) were ranked as Fe (56,659.83) > Al (39,758.00) > Mn (1168.53) > Zn (155.03) > Cr (120.75) > Pb (93.71) > Cu (82.66) > Ni (44.93) > Co (17.98) > As (13.66) > Cd (0.99) > Hg (0.18), respectively. The stations S4 and S6 showed “very high contamination” for Pb, “significantly enrichment” for Pb and Cd, “high ecological risk” for Cd, and “heavily polluted” for Pb and Cd according to the results of CF, EF, Eri, Igeo, respectively. The rest of the stations were in the low or moderate contamination through the all seasons as assessed by different eco-geochemical risk assessment indices. The integrated risk evaluation indices indicated no contamination in stations S3 and S5.
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