Trace metals and organic matter in nearshore sediment cores from the eastern mediterranean (Haifa Bay of Israel)

Abstract

Distribution of six trace metals (cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, zinc and iron), carbonates and total organic matter (defined as loss on ignition—LOI) have been assessed for sediment cores collected in the nearshore area of Haifa Bay in March 1987. The trace metal distributions over whole lengths of the cores (ca 60–80 cm) were found to be very uniform, and no post-industrial trace metal pollution signals were detected up to 80 cm depth in the nearshore sediments. The uniformity of trace metal distribution over the whole lengths of the cores in the studied area was explained by active bioturbation of the marine sediment on the continental shelf of the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Strong evidence has been found that there was no anthropogenic trace metal transport from the industrially polluted southern inner part of Haifa Bay to the outer part of the bay.