Heavy Metal Concentrations In Seawater Research Articles

Natural heavy metal concentrations in seawater as a possible cause of low survival of larval mussels

BackgroundA period of seismic activity starting in 2010 coincided with a decline in commercial catches of wild seed mussels in a major aquaculture production region of New Zealand. Analyses of over 40 years of mussel seed catch data from in the Pelorus and Kenepuru Sounds, confirmed a marked decline since 2010 in catches of the preferred, green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus), the larvae of which is known to have low tolerance of heavy metals in seawater. MethodsHeavy metal mean concentrations were measured throughout the Pelorus and Kenepuru Sounds. The concentrations ranged from < 0.60–3.24, < 16.94–74.35, < 1.47–4.00, 2.23–19.02, 1.86–3.29 and 0.12–0.52 µg L−1 for Cr, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, and Cd, respectively. Seawater from six locations in the Sounds, historically associated with high commercial catches of settling mussel larvae, was used for experimental rearing of green-lipped mussel larvae. ResultsNo mussel embryos survived when incubated in these seawater samples. The mean concentrations of Cr, Fe, As, and Cd were significantly higher in the seawater from the Sounds than in the hatchery seawater. A higher concentration of one or a combination of these heavy metals could be the cause of the poor larval survival. These findings could be crucial for the sustainability of mussel farming in the area.

Assessment of Heavy Metal Concentrations in Seawater in the Coastal Areas around Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia

Due to anthropogenic influences that can cause heavy metal pollution in the aquatic environment, it is essential to know the amounts of heavy metals in coastal seawater to assess the potential damage of the ecosystem. The purpose of this study is to assess heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn) in seawater in the coastal areas around Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. This study will be useful for the assessment and monitoring of marine pollution around the study area. A total of 9 water samples were collected in the close of nine types of coastal land use, namely mangrove ecosystem, tourist attraction, airport, harbor, mining area, bare land, shrimp pond, agricultural land, and settlement around Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta Province in June 2021. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn were not detected, concentrations were below the limit of detection. The Pb concentrations at all sampling locations did not comply with seawater quality standards for ports, marine tourism, or marine biota based on the Ministry of Environment Decree No. 51, the year 2004 regulation. The source of Pb in the study area was estimated from anthropogenic and natural sources. The anthropogenic sources were corrosion of junk metal items, automobile traffic, resuspension of lead-contaminated soil dust, boat navigation, painting of boats, a coking coal transport service, fishing port, the supply of fuel, fertilizer, fuel for mining equipment, and transportation of mining activities. While the natural sources were the concentration of Pb contained in iron sand (a part of Quarterly Alluvium) eroded due to waves and wind then mixed in seawater.

Heavy metal uptake of nearshore benthic foraminifera during multi-metal culturing experiments

Abstract. Heavy metal pollution originating from anthropogenic sources, e.g. mining, industry and extensive land use, is increasing in many parts of the world and influences coastal marine environments even after the source has ceased to pollute. The elevated input of heavy metals into the marine system potentially affects the biota because of their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. An emerging tool for environmental applications is the heavy metal incorporation into foraminiferal calcite tests, which facilitates monitoring of anthropogenic footprints on recent and past environmental systems. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the incorporation of heavy metals into foraminifera is a direct function of their concentration in seawater. Culturing experiments with a mixture of dissolved chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), silver (Ag), cadmium (Cd), tin (Sn), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in artificial seawater were carried out over a wide concentration range to assess the uptake of heavy metals by the nearshore foraminiferal species Ammonia aomoriensis, Ammonia batava and Elphidium excavatum. Seawater analyses revealed increasing concentrations for most metals between culturing phases and high metal concentrations in the beginning of the culturing phases due to sudden metal addition. Furthermore, a loss of metals during the culturing process was discovered by an offset between the added and the actual concentrations of the metals in seawater. Laser ablation ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) analysis of the newly formed calcite revealed species-specific differences in the incorporation of heavy metals. The foraminiferal calcite of all three species exhibited Pb and Ag concentrations strongly correlated with concentrations in the seawater culturing medium (partition coefficients and standard deviation for Ag – Ammonia aomoriensis, 0.50 ± 0.02; Ammonia batava, 0.17 ± 0.01; Elphidium excavatum, 0.47 ± 0.04; for Pb – Ammonia aomoriensis, 0.39 ± 0.01; Ammonia batava, 0.52 ± 0.01; Elphidium excavatum, 0.91 ± 0.01). Ammonia aomoriensis further showed a correlation with Mn and Cu, A. batava with Mn and Hg, and E. excavatum with Cr and Ni and partially also with Hg. However, Zn, Sn and Cd showed no clear trend for the species studied, which in the case of Sn was maybe caused by the lack of variation in the seawater Sn concentration. The calibrations and the calculated partition coefficients render A. aomoriensis, A. batava and E. excavatum as natural archives that enable the determination of variations in some heavy metal concentrations in seawater in polluted and pristine environments.

Seasonal variations of some heavy metal concentrations in seawater, sediment, and the surf clam, Mactra olorina (Philippi, 1846) in the Great Bitter Lake, Suez Canal, Egypt

Seasonal variations of some heavy metal concentrations in seawater, sediment, and the surf clam, Mactra olorina (Philippi, 1846) in the Great Bitter Lake, Suez Canal, Egypt

Effects of sea reclamation project on heavy metal concentrations in seawater- a case study in Qixingtu

Sea reclamation will pollute the environment and reduce the quality of marine water. In order to discuss the impact of reclamation on seawater, 4 heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zm, Cd) in seawater near Qixingtu were analysized for three time periods: 2007(before the reclamation), 2016(not long after the reclamation) and 2018 (after the reclamation). As a result, concentrations of all the 4 heavy metal met the standard requirements in surrounding seawater of Qixingtu, which indicated a good sea water quality in this area. Except for Cd, all the other heavy metals showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing. Sea reclamation could indeed aggravate the heavy metal pollution in the surrounding seawater but the impact would recover through reasonable treatment and protection.

Determination and comparison of selected heavy metal concentrations in seawater and sediment samples in the coastal area of Suva, Fiji

The coastal area of Suva, Fiji is exposed to high degree of metals input from different sources such as land-based industrial activities like metal fabrication and construction, paint manufacturing, petroleum storage and garment manufacturing, food processing and fish cannery as well as activities of bottling plants. It is therefore essential to have continuous monitoring and environmental management for the coastal area. Thus, to assess the degree of contamination of metals, selected metals (Cd, Zn, Pb, Cu and Ni) concentrations were analysed in seawater and sediment samples collected from ten sites in the coastal area of Suva, Fiji. The concentration of these metals in the samples was analysed using flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). The concentrations of the metal in seawater were in the range: 0.23–0.80 mg/L, 0.08–1.45 mg/L, 0.15–0.25 mg/L, 0.88–1.77 mg/L and 0.88–10.29 mg/L for Ni, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu, respectively. The corresponding concentrations of metal in the sediment samples in dry weight (dw) basis for Ni, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu were in the range: 17.24–28.74 mg/kg, 18.55–68.78 mg/kg, 5.49–9.16 mg/kg, 116.96–233.92 mg/kg and 78.43–490.18 mg/kg, respectively. The quality of the seawater was evaluated with respect to WHO established guidelines while the quality of the sediments evaluated using internationally accepted Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs). The contamination of the sediments was also assessed in terms of geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (Cf) as well as pollution load index (PLI). Zn complied with the guidelines in all ten sites, Cu in eight sites was within the guidelines while Ni complied with the guideline in six sites. However, the levels of contamination recorded for Cd and Pb in all ten sites did not comply with the guidelines.

Cell wall thickening in two Ulva species in response to heavy metal marine pollution

The present work was aimed at evaluating the responses of two green algae, Ulva rigida and Ulva intestinalis, to heavy metal pollution in their natural environment. These species were harvested in the Atlantic shorelines of El Jadida (Morocco) at two different stations: first, a non-polluted site (S1) which served as a control, and a second one (S2), which is affected by industrial effluents, mainly from a phosphate facility. Except for iron, the heavy metal concentrations in seawater were higher in station S2 than in station S1 (notably cadmium and lead levels). Consequently, the algal samples collected from S2 presented higher levels of heavy metals compared with those collected in S1. Pollution in station S2 resulted in a reduction in size of thalli of both algal species. Optical microscopy of algal slices showed that the polluted environment induced the thickening of the cell walls along with an enlargement of cell areas. Elevated cell wall yields, higher content of polysaccharides (mainly ulvans), sulfate, and protein were also detected in algae from S2. However, the monosaccharide distribution in cell wall polysaccharides was quite identical in the two species, regardless of the station. Our results describe an adaptation mechanism mainly based on cell wall thickening which restrains the entry of toxic elements into the cells, allowing these algae to enhance their tolerance to heavy metal stress.

Concentration, distribution and correlation of heavy metals in Asian Moon Scallop (Amusium pleuronectes) and sea water from Indragiri River estuary

A study on the concentration, distribution and correlation of heavy metals Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in seawater and asian moon scallop (Amusium pleuronectes) from Indragiri river estuary has been conducted on April 2018. Samples were collected from six stations representing inner and outer part of the estuary and the analysis of heavy metal was carried out by using AAS Shimadzu AA-7000. The results of the study showed that the average concentration of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in surface seawater and scallop were 0.0744, 0.0038, 0.0302, 0.1761 mg/L and 0.3100, 0.5300, 7.8669, 43.1069 μg/g, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals between stations were significantly different (p<0.05), but no difference found between outer and inner part of the estuary (p>0.05). Heavy metal concentrations in seawater and scallop were positively correlated, except for Pb. The tolerable intake of metals as PTWI (Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake) was calculated presented. Although the concentrations of all metals were still lower than many reported areas in Indonesian coastal waters, further intensive study is needed in order to determine the toxic metals in the scallop, and not only to report levels of contaminants but also important to compare them with health criteria values. Continuous environment monitoring programs should also be implemented to keep and protect the sustainability of the estuary.

Spatial distribution and potential ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in the North-West Coast of Kundur Island, Kepulauan Riau Province, Indonesia

The objective of the present study was to analyze spatial distribution potential ecological risk of heavy metals in North-West Coast of Kundur Island. Sampels of seawater and sediment were taken from five stations and were analysed by using AAS Perkin Elmer 3110 in Marine Chemistry Laboratory Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Universitas Riau. The arrangement of the metals studied from higher to lower mean concentrations are: Fe>Ni>Zn>Mn>Cr>Sn>Pb>Cu in seawater and Fe>Mn>Zn>Ni>Cr>Pb>Sn>Cu in sediments, respectively. Distribution of heavy metal concentrations in seawater and sediment were found to have almost similar trends where higher concentrations were found in stations closed to the mining activities. Concentration of all metals in seawater were possitively correlated with that in sediment, except for Mn. Contamination factor, geoaccumulation index and enrichment factor demonstrated that most of the sediment samples were moderately to heavily contaminated by Cr, Ni and Zn but not yet for other metals. However, PERI value indicated that the studied area is still has low ecological risk from the mining activity in the surrounding area.

Determination of radioactivity levels and heavy metal concentrations in seawater, sediment and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) from the Black Sea in Rize, Turkey

Seawater, sediment and fish (anchovy) samples consumed in the Rize province of the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey were collected from five different stations. The radioactivity levels (226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs) were determined in all the samples using a high-purity germanium detector. While 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radionuclides were detected in all samples, the radionuclide concentration of 137Cs, except for the sediment samples (mean activity is 9±1.4Bqkg−1), was not detected for the seawater and fish samples. The total annual effective dose rates from the ingestion of these radionuclides for fish were calculated using the measured activity concentrations in radionuclides and their ingested dose conversion factor. Also, the concentrations of some heavy metals in all the samples were determined. The activity and heavy metal concentration values that were determined for the seawater, sediment and fish samples were compared among the locations themselves and with literature values.

Multivariate analysis of heavy metal contaminations in seawater and sediments from a heavily industrialized harbor in Southern Taiwan

Heavy metal pollution, including chromium, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, copper, lead, and aluminum, in the largest industrial harbor in southern Taiwan was investigated. Increasing metal contamination was observed by monitoring heavy metal concentrations in seawater and sediments and estimating the enrichment factors, particularly those inside the harbor. Compared to other metal-polluted harbors worldwide, the presence of chromium in the sediments was relatively high. Excluding the background contribution, the harbor area was polluted by outflows from river mouths, wastewater discharging pipes, and point sources near industrial activities within the harbor. It is shown by principal component and cluster analyses that metal contamination was affected by a wide range of different and complex contamination mechanisms inside and outside the harbor, suggesting managing the pollution using straightforward strategies, i.e., solutions that only consider a single source or single pathway of metal emissions, is problematic.