Abstract
This study reports the concentrations of trace metals in core sediments profile from the coastal and four rivers estuary in the Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia, and the controlling mechanisms influencing their availability in sediments of the studied area. The bonding of trace metals with non-mobile fractions was confirmed with the sequential extraction. Inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP–OES) was used to measure the concentrations of the trace metals. Granulometric analyses were performed using normalized sieve apertures to determine the textural characteristics of the sediments. Enrichment factor was used to evaluate the level of metal enrichment. Heavy metals concentrations in sediment samples varied in the range: Pb (8.9–188.9 mg/kg d.w.), Zn (19.4–431.8 mg/kg d.w.), Cd (0.014–0.061 mg/kg d.w.), Ni (6.6–33.4 mg/kg d.w.), Mn (2.4–16.8 mg/kg d.w.), Cu (9.4–133.3 mg/kg d.w.), Ba (1.3–9.9 mg/kg d.w.), As (0.4–7.9 mg/kg d.w.), Co (0.9–5.1 mg/kg d.w.), Cr (1.4–7.8 mg/kg d.w.), Mg (68.8–499.3 mg/kg d.w.), Ca (11.3–64.9 mg/kg d.w.), Al (24.7–141.7 mg/kg d.w.), Na (8.8–29.4 mg/kg d.w.), and Fe (12,011–35,124.6 mg/kg d.w.). The estimated results of the enrichment factor suggested enrichments of Pb, Zn, and Cu in all the core sediment samples and depths at all sites. The other trace metals showed no enrichments in almost all the sampled stations. Continuous accumulation of Pb, Zn, and Cu metals over a period can be detrimental to living organisms and the ecology. The results obtained from the statistical analyses suggested that the deposition of trace metals in the studied sites is due to anthropogenic inputs from the adjacent land-based sources.
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The authors acknowledge the contribution of colleagues from the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology (FRST), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
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The consumables and field trip cost of the entire research were financially supported by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Postgraduate Research Grant, with Grant Code: F07/PGRG/1896/2019.
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EAA, ZA, and RW conceived of the study and carried out the design of the experiment. EAA and ZA carried out the sample preparation and analysis; EAA, TB, and SSD assessed the data; and EAA, ZA, and RW helped to draft and edited the manuscript. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.
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Asare, E., Assim, Z., Wahi, R. et al. Trend analysis of anthropogenic activities affecting trace metals deposition in core sediments from the coastal and four rivers estuary of Sarawak, Malaysia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 16294–16310 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17008-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17008-1