The spatial multiscale variability of heavy metals based on factorial kriging analysis: A case study in the northeastern Beibu Gulf

Abstract

Factorial kriging analysis is applied to the research on the spatial multiscale variability of heavy metals in submarine. It is used to analyze the multiscale spatial structures of seven heavy metals, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, As and Cd in the surface sediment from the northeastern of Beibu Gulf, identify and separate spatial variations at different scales of heavy metals, and discuss the provenance of heavy metals and the influencing factors. The results show that the existence of three-scale spatial variations those consist of nugget effect, a spherical structure with range of 30 km (short-range scale) and a spherical structure with range of 140 km (long-range scale) in the linear model of coregionalization fitted. The spatial distribution features of seven heavy metals at short-range scale reflect “spot-like” or “stripe-like” local-scale spatial variations; the spatial distribution features of the seven heavy metals at long-range scale represent “slice-like” regional-scale spatial variations. At local scale, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, Pb and Cd are derived primarily from parent materials of Hainan Island, Leizhou Peninsula and Guangxi land, whose spatial distribution characteristics are controlled by granularity of sediments, while As is influenced dominantly by human pollution components from Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula. At regional scale, Zn, Cr, Ni and Cu originate primarily from parent rock materials of Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island, secondly from Guangxi land; As originated primarily from parent rock materials from Hainan Island, secondly from Leizhou Peninsula and Guangxi land. These metals are transported and migrated with sediments dominated by the anticlockwise circulation of Beibu Gulf year-round, deposited in “convergence center”, forming the whole sedimentary pattern in direction of NWW-NNW at regional scale. The difference in distribution type between As and other metals at regional scale is mainly due to their different geochemical behavior.