Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution of the Peter the Great Bay (North-West Pacific Region) Using Brown Algae

Svetlana Kozhenkova,Elena Chernova

doi:10.4236/gep.2020.810010

Abstract

According to the content of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Ni in brown algae Sargassum miyabei from the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan, geochemical factors were calculated. The algae geochemical anomaly index (IGA) characterizes the degree of excess of the background concentrations of metals. The heavy metal pollution factor (Fp) is used to estimate the degree of pollution of the marine environment with heavy metals. The Peter the Great Bay has a low level of heavy metal pollution, but some parts of second-order bays, such as Amurskii Bay, Ussuriiskii Bay and Vostok Bay, have a moderate degree of pollution. The high pollution level was registed on the western coast of the Ussuriiskii Bay near the Vladivostok city landfill. Thirty percent of sampling stations were noted to have higher threshold levels of metals in the algae. These areas need to be monitored to assess their environmental status and measures should be applied to reduce the impact on the environment.

Highlights

The heavy-metals pollution of the marine environment is the pressing problem
The Peter the Great Bay has a low level of heavy metal pollution, but some parts of second-order bays, such as Amurskii Bay, Ussuriiskii Bay and Vostok Bay, have a moderate degree of pollution
The stations of macrophyte sampling by the authors of this paper and our colleagues have intersected and, thereby, a total number of points of macrophyte sampling in the Peter the Great Bay reaches 84 stations

Summary

Introduction

The heavy-metals pollution of the marine environment is the pressing problem. The basis line in the solution of this problem is a decrease in income of contaminants from the main sources of pollution as well as a getting the positive balance between assimilatory capacity of the coastal ecosystem and intensity of the pollution supply (Israel, 1989). Monitoring of the environment is a basis for base. The correct assessment of the degree of metal pollution in coastal areas should include the state analysis of different components of the ecosystem including the abiotic (water and bottom sediments) and biotic ones (Burdin, 1985; Khristoforova, 1989; Rainbow & Phillips, 1993; Chakraborty, Bhattacharya, Singh, & Maity, 2014)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion