Spatiotemporal distributions of heavy metals (HMs) and their contamination status linked with the sedimentary environment were investigated in 2 monitoring years (MY-I and MY-II) along the Pakistan coast. The concentrations of HMs in sediments were analyzed through an atomic absorption spectrometer and presented the following order: Fe > Zn > Cu > Pb ≈ Cr > Ni > Co > Cd in MY-I and Fe > Cr > Zn > Ni > Cu > Pb > Co > Cd in MY-II. In the coastal sediments, all HMs surpassed the edges of shale values and sediment quality guidelines, excluding Fe. The burial flux (F_B), mass inventory (M_I), and deposition flux (F_D) of HMs were evaluated and compared to explore the potential of sediments to adsorb and desorb the metals into the marine environment during the last decade. Metal-specific pollution indices (I_geo, EF, C_f, and E_r) presented moderate contamination of Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, and Co but considerable contamination of Pb and Cd in sediments. However, site-specific geoindicators (CD, RI, and PLI) signified the Sandspit as the highest polluted site along the coastal vicinity. Multivariate analyses via principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) also highlighted the significant interactions between geochemical properties. The current study concluded the high pollution state toward the HMs and rendered the knowledge for policymaking and conserving the coastal and estuarine environment of Pakistan bordering the Northern Arabian Sea.

在巴基斯坦沿岸的两个监测年（MY-I和MY-II）中调查了重金属（HMs）的时空分布及其与沉积环境相关的污染状况。通过原子吸收光谱仪分析沉积物中的HMs浓度，并按以下顺序排列：MY-1中的Fe> Zn> Cu> Pb≈Cr> Ni> Co> Cd，Fe> Cr> Zn> Ni> Cu> Pb > Co> Cd在MY-II中。在沿海沉积物中，除铁以外，所有重金属均超过了页岩值和沉积物质量准则的范围。埋藏通量（F _B），质量存量（M _I）和沉积通量（F _D对HMs进行了评估并进行了比较，以探讨沉积物在过去十年中将金属吸附和解吸到海洋环境中的潜力。金属特定污染指数（I _geo，EF，C _f和E _r）表现出中等程度的Cu，Zn，Cr，Ni和Co污染，但沉积物中Pb和Cd的污染相当大。但是，特定地点的地理指示符（CD，RI和PLI）将Sandspit标记为沿海附近污染最高的地点。通过主成分分析（PCA）和聚类分析（CA）进行的多变量分析也突显了地球化学性质之间的显着相互作用。当前的研究总结了对重金属污染的高污染状态，并为决策和保护与北部阿拉伯海接壤的巴基斯坦的沿海和河口环境提供了知识。