Abstract
The safety of lake ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has attracted increasing attention, owing to its unique location and ecological vulnerability. Previous studies have shown that the aquatic systems on the QTP have been polluted to varying degrees by trace elements. However, little is known of the distribution and sources of trace elements in lakes in the northeast QTP. Here, 57 sediment samples were collected from six lakes (Dasugan Lake, Xiaoqaidam Lake, Kreuk Lake, Toson Lake, Gahai Lake and Xiligou Lake) in the Qaidam Basin, northeast QTP, and the trace elements (V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Ba, Tl, Cd, Pb, and U) were analyzed. The results indicated that Ba, Zn, V, and Cr had a higher content and a wider distribution relative to the other tested elements. Correlation coefficient matrix results showed that the trace elements in the study area were strongly correlated, revealing their source of similarity. Self-organizing maps (SOM, an artificial neural network algorithm) results indicated that the degree of pollution in Xiaoqaidam Lake was the highest, and that of Dasugan Lake was the lowest. Furthermore, all sampling points were clustered into four categories through K-means clustering. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) results indicated that atmospheric deposition and anthropogenic inputs were the main trace elements sources in these lakes, followed by traffic emission and geological sources. Collectively, trace elements of six lakes in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau presented high-content and pollution characteristics. This research provides a scientific basis for better water environment management and ecological protection on the QTP.
Highlights
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), known as the Third Pole of the Earth, is the largest geographical unit on Earth with an altitude of above 4000 m
The total trace element content in the sediments of the six lakes in the Qaidam Basin are shown in Table 1 and Figure 2
The Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) algorithm was used as the feature extraction of the content and distribution of trace elements obtained from the study area
Summary
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), known as the Third Pole of the Earth, is the largest geographical unit on Earth with an altitude of above 4000 m. The environment and ecosystem in QTP are sensitive and fragile, and have been increasingly affected by variations in global or regional climate [1,2]. Intensive human activities including regional urbanization and industrialization, agricultural development, animal husbandry, and tourism have profoundly affected the eco-environment in QTP and the related biogeochemical cycle of trace elements [3,4,5]. Note: SD: Standard Deviation; CV: Coefficients of variation; a [42]; b [35]; c Yangtze River, China, [10]; d Ruzin and the Velke Kozmalovce, Slovakia, [18]; e [44]; f Qarun lake, Egypt, [43]; g Coromandel Coast, India, [45].
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