Temporal change of potential toxic element contamination, ecological and toxicological risk in holocene in Southern Black Sea coasts (Türkiye)

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the temporal variation of the potential toxic element concentration and ecological risk level during the Holocene along the Southern Black Sea coasts. Ecological and ecotoxicological indices such as enrichment factor (EF), modified ecological risk index (mRI), modified potential ecological risk index (mPER) and toxic risk index (TRI) were used in the study. Anthropogenic effects were determined to be more dominant in the western and middle parts of the Southern Black Sea Region. As, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Hg, Ni enrichments were observed in the last 200 – 300 years and the potential risk index values related to them increased. Source of enrichment detected in the cores was found to be related to the volcanic activities that occurred in different geological periods. It was determined that the increases in PTE concentration observed specifically in the middle parts of the cores coincided with the dates of the volcanic activities observed in Anatolia.