Metal fractionation in sediments as a tool for assessing the availability of trace metals: The case of Apipucos Reservoir

Contamination assessment and prediction of 27 trace elements in sediment core from an urban lake associated with land use

A sediment core was sampled in an urban lake in southern Brazil, and the presence of 27 trace elements was assessed. The geochronology showed that the core corresponds to the period from 1914 to 2012. Accumulation of metals and the level of pollution was measured by the geoaccumulation index (I_geo) and enrichment factor (EF). According to I_geo and EF, the lake showed a high concentration of Ag, Se, Na, Au, S, Ca, Mg, Ba, Sb, Bi, and Sr with 5 ≤ EF ≤ 45 and I_geo class = 2-6. The EF to Au = 45 and Ag = 40. In contrast, Fe, Al, As, Cr, Ga, La, Sc, and Th do not represent pollution (I_geo ≤ 0 and EF ≤ 1.6). A principal component analysis and Spearman correlation showed a first group composed of Ca, Mg, P, Ba, Sr, Na, K, Ag, Bi, Au, Mo, sand, silt, and total organic carbon with positive correlation ≥ 0.70 and > 0.95 to Sr, Ag, sand, and silt. These were negatively correlated ≥- 0.70 with Fe. The second group: Fe, La, Ga, Ti, V, Cr, As, Al, Th from lithogenic source. Prediction models for the concentration for Mg, Na, P, Sr, Fe, Ga, and total organic carbon to years 2020-2050 were obtained with R² > 0.65. In the anthropogenic source analyses, a watershed land use map indicates multiple uses of the land, with 53% urban area, 14.6% agriculture, and 14.5% forest.

Risk assessment and chemical fractionation of selected elements in surface sediments from Lake Qarun, Egypt using modified BCR technique

In this study, spatial distribution and chemical fractionation were conducted to appraise the overall classification of Al, B, Cd, Cr, and Pb as well as their ecological risks in Lake Qarun sediments. Also, the other chemical components (CaCO₃, TOC, SO₄^2-, SiO₃^2-, PO₄^3-, F, Ca, and Mg) that represented the chemical composition of the sediments were determined. Modified BCR sequential extraction technique was used to evaluate the four (acid soluble, reducible, oxidizable and residual) fractions of the surface sediments. The association of Cd was found the highest with acid-soluble fraction (12.16-77.42%), while, Al (89.92-96.83%), B (42.32-93.93%), Cr (86.35-97.42%) and Pb (31.98-86.26%) were reside in residual phase. The degree of surface sediment contamination was computed by risk assessment code (RAC), individual contamination factor (ICF) and Global contamination factor (GCF). Risk assessment code classification showed that the relative amounts of easily dissolved phase of the investigated elements in the sediments are in the order of: Cd > Pb > B > Cr > Al. As a result, Cd had the highest risk to Lake Qarun. This study is a first approach of chemical fractionation of Al, B, Cd, Cr, and Pb in one of the most ecologically important Protectorates declared in the framework of Law 102 of year 1983. Information of this study constitutes a baseline of elements fractionation in Lake Qarun sediments and should be used as a reference for future studies on the changes of labile and residual elements fractions over time.