Geochemistry of the High Dam Lake sediments, south Egypt: implications for environmental significance

Abstract

The goal of the present work is to perform a geochemical assessment of High Dam Lake bottom sediments for determining the fate, dispersion and levels of trace elements causing environmental pollution, and provided an access to their probable sources. The sediment samples were analyzed using ICP-MS for 20 elements; Ag, Ba, Cr, Cu, Ga, Hf, Mn, Pb, Rb, Sc, Se, Sn, Sr, Ta Th Ti, Tl, U, V and Zr, and their obtained data were treated using statistical, graphical and mapping techniques. The results showed the data set of all analyzed elements affected by outliers and extreme values that caused deviation away from normality. Kruskal–Wallis test revealed that median of some trace element levels in Lake sediments, was not significantly different and other elements rejected the Null hypothesis. Most analyzed elements had high values of median and mean in sediments of Lake Nubia rather than Lake Nasser and their normalization gave the same results of calculated environment factors. Subsequently, Lake Nubia sediments possessed high combined EF levels of Th, Sc, Sn, Ag, Zr, Hf, Ta, Sr, U, Ti, V, Cr, and Mn, causing significant contamination, which was great potentially related to industrial, agricultural, urbanization and mining activities. Whereas, combined EF of Se, Cu, Ga, Pb, Ba, Rb, and Tl, which are highly elevated in southern Lake Nasser sediments owing to their source are great possibly derived from Lake Nubia and geogenic activities. With decreasing distance towards the High Dam body, the contaminant elements were diminished due to reduction in the environmental factors and Sudanese pollution sources leading to the northern Lake Nasser considered to be less contaminated. Overall, the present study is an environmental alert for contaminated sediments that carried contaminants and considered the secondary source of pollution impact on ecosystem, and subsequently, their environmental risk on Human health.