Comparison of Ni enrichment and background concentrations in the Southeastern Black Sea sediments

Abstract

Surface sediment samples were collected at 104 stations in 34 different locations in seasonal periods in 2013–2014 on the southeastern coasts of the Black Sea. Nickel concentrations were measured with ICP-MS after microwave digestion and were higher in two seperate region than that of others. Relatively high Ni concentrations were found in Bafra (148 ± 18 mg/kg), Dereköy (147 ± 24 mg/kg), Canik (95 ± 35 mg/kg), Çaltıburnu (129 ± 13 mg/kg), Çarşamba (127 ± 4 mg/kg), Terme/Ünye (94 ± 28 mg/kg), Akçaabat (95 ± 13 mg/kg), Çarşıbaşı (77 ± 14 mg/kg), Vakfıkebir (64 ± 5 mg/kg) and Görele (53 ± 15 mg/kg). Nickel concentrations were higher than Effects Range-Medium (ERM) limits in the western and middle part of the region. Ni enrichment levels in sediments were calculated from both core data and earth crust values as a background. It was determined that the enrichment factors found by using earth crust values produced quite misleading results due to the geological variation of the region. It is also concluded that Ni concentrations in marine sediments of the southeastern coasts of the Black Sea are related to terrestrial geological structure.