Abstract

The present study analyzed the concentrations of four heavy metals iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and lead (Pb) on the surface sediments in Sebou river estuary (Morocco) and evaluated the role of sediment grain size and organic carbon (OC) on the distribution of metals. Sixteen numbers of surface sediment samples collected during the summer period of 2019 from Sebou estuary were used for the study. The dominance of fine-grained sediments (clay and silt) was observed in the study region. The organic carbon distribution indicates that they were brought from the surroundings of coastal areas. Correlation analysis indicates that fine-grained particles and organic carbon (OC) control the distribution of metals and suggest strong association between metals and fine-grained fractions. Significant correlations were evident between Zn and Mn (r = 0.66), and between Mn and Fe (r = 0.70). The correlations between OC versus Mn (r = 0.80), OC and sand (r = −0.70), OC versus silt (r = 0.96), and OC and clay (r = 0.87) were significant. Contamination levels of metals were examined by using geo-accumulation index and contamination factor, which indicate that the estuarine sediments were unpolluted to moderately polluted with heavy metals. The study thus provides baseline data on the heavy metal distribution in the Sebou estuary for identifying the source of future contamination.

摘要

本研究分析了塞布河口（摩洛哥）表层沉积物中四种重金属铁 (Fe)、锰 (Mn)、锌 (Zn) 和铅 (Pb) 的浓度，并评估了沉积物粒度和有机碳（OC）对金属的分布。研究使用了 2019 年夏季从塞布河口采集的 16 份表层沉积物样本。在研究区域观察到细粒沉积物（粘土和淤泥）的优势。有机碳分布表明它们是从沿海地区周围带来的。相关性分析表明，细粒颗粒和有机碳 (OC) 控制着金属的分布，并表明金属与细粒级分之间存在强关联。Zn 和 Mn 之间存在显着相关性（r = 0. 66），在锰和铁之间（r = 0.70）。OC 与 Mn (r = 0.80)、OC 与沙子 (r = -0.70)、OC 与淤泥 (r = 0.96) 以及 OC 和粘土 (r = 0.87) 之间的相关性显着。采用地积累指数和污染因子对金属污染程度进行了检测，表明河口沉积物为未污染至中度重金属污染。因此，该研究提供了塞布河河口重金属分布的基线数据，用于确定未来污染的来源。这表明河口沉积物未受到重金属污染至中度污染。因此，该研究提供了塞布河河口重金属分布的基线数据，用于确定未来污染的来源。这表明河口沉积物未受到重金属污染至中度污染。因此，该研究提供了塞布河河口重金属分布的基线数据，用于确定未来污染的来源。