Multivariate analysis of heavy metal and nutrient concentrations in sediments of Taihu Lake, China*

Abstract

Taihu Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. The Lake is very shallow with a mean depth of 1.9 m and an area of 2428 km2. Nutrient concentrations (Org-C, Tot-N and Tot-P) and heavy metal concentrations (Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn, etc.) in the lake's surface sediments were sampled at 13 locations. This was done to determine if industrialized areas along the lake's coastline were impacting the nutrient and heavy metal distribution of the lake's surface sediments. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to assess the degree of contamination and spatial distribution of heavy metals and nutrients in different areas of Taihu Lake.