Natural Versus Anthropic Influence on North Adriatic Coast Detected by Geochemical Analyses

Eliana Barra,Sonia Albertazzi,Francesco Riminucci,Enrico Dinelli,Lucilla Capotondi,Mariangela Ravaioli,Patrizia Giordano

doi:10.3390/app10186595

Abstract

This study focused on the geochemical and sedimentological characterization of recent sediments from two marine sites (S1 and E1) located in the North Adriatic Sea, between the Po River prodelta and the Rimini coast. Major and trace metal concentrations reflect the drainage area of the Po River and its tributaries, considered one of the most polluted areas in Europe. Sediment geochemistry of the two investigated sites denote distinct catchment areas. High values of Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn detected in sediments collected in the Po River prodelta (S1 site) suggest the Po River supply, while lower levels of these elements characterize sediments collected in front of the Rimini coast (E1 site), an indication of Northern Apennines provenance. Historical trends of Pb and Zn reconstructed from the sedimentary record around the E1 site document several changes that can be correlated with the industrialization subsequent to World War II, the implementation of the environmental policy in 1976 and the effects of the Comacchio dumping at the end of 1980. At the S1 site, the down core distributions of trace elements indicate a reduction of contaminants due to the introduction of the Italian Law 319/76 and the implementation of anti-pollution policies on automotive Pb (unleaded fuels) in the second half of the 1980s.

Highlights

Sedimentary deposits represent an important natural archive of environmental change
To evaluate the anthropic effects on coastal environments, we report integrated geochemical and sedimentological analyses performed on marine sediment cores collected in the North Adriatic at sedimentological analyses performed on marine sediment cores collected in the North Adriatic at the thePo
Geochemical and distribution analyses of trace elements were performed on the marine sediments from two sites (E1 and S1) located along the western Adriatic coast

Summary

Introduction

Sedimentary deposits represent an important natural archive of environmental change. Their study allows the evaluation of the extent and the effect of anthropogenic inputs [1]. Marine sediments act as sinks and sources of contaminants delivered to the sea from inland activities. An exhaustive assessment of the natural geochemical background is mandatory, when dealing with inorganic contaminants [2]. The high concentration of industrial, zootechnical and agricultural activities critically intensifies the risk of heavy-metal contamination of the prodelta area, coastal lagoons [3–6] and in the neighboring marine environments [7,8]. To evaluate the anthropogenic signals in S1 and E1 sites, we compared the data with the background trace metal values. For the S1 site, we considered as background values from adjacent areas available from the literature [10,41,42] (Table 2), and, for the E1 site, we chose the mean values detected in the 1900–1920 interval (Table 2 and interval 12–15 cm in Figure 5) as representative of the pre-industrial values.

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion