Distribution and Fate of Heavy Metals in the North Sea

Abstract

In recent years coastal and shelf systems such as the North Sea have attracted considerable attention where heavy metal studies are concerned. There has been growing concern over the last decade regarding the effects of industrial discharges on heavy metal levels in nearshore waters and ecosystems, which has been documented in the reports of the first and second International North Sea Conference. As a result of the high input of pollutants from both the British Isles and the European continent, and a limited dilution on account of the shallow waters, the southern North Sea has often been regarded as the most heavily polluted marine area in the world since the early seventies (Weichart 1973). Metal pollution assessments from sediment analysis (e.g., Groot et al. 1971; Banat et al. 1972; Gadow and Schafer 1973) formed a background of these early discussions.