Distribution and Accumulation of Metals in the Surface Sediments of Coleroon River Estuary, East Coast of India

Abstract

This study deals with the geochemical nature of distribution of metals (iron, manganese, lead and zinc) in bulk sediments and its association with sand, silt, clay and organic carbon. Ten numbers of surface sediment samples were collected during summer season of 2009 from Coleroon estuary. The sediments are mostly sandy silt in nature. The organic carbon distribution indicates that they are brought in the surroundings of coastal areas. Correlation analysis clearly indicates that fine particles and organic carbon control the distribution of metals. The most evident the significant correlations where zinc vs manganese (r = 0.641), manganese versus iron (r = 0.618), lead versus manganese (r = 0.574). The correlation between organic carbon versus manganese (r = 0.768), organic carbon versus sand (r = 0.872), organic carbon versus silt (r = 0.902), organic carbon versus clay (r = 0.793). The degree of correlation between metals and other major constituents is often used to indicate the origin of the metals. Strong positive correlation coefficient of all the above said metals and organic carbon are mainly associated with the fine grained sediments.