SPATIAL AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE SURFACE WATER AND DEEP SEDIMENTS OF FRESH WATER AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the levels of various trace metals present in water and sediment of fresh water aquatic ecosystem during the post monsoon season. The study was extended to identify the trace metal contamination in the water and sediment samples collected along the shores of Lambapur and Peddagattu the tribal villages in India using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICPMS). The trace metal contents in water samples were copper- 24.2 to 47.5, chromium- 4.4 to 8.2, cadmium- 0.1 to 0.3, lead- 2.1 to 3.8, Nickel- 5.9 to 9.7, Zinc- 4.6 to 9.7, Manganese- 10.8 to 13.2, Iron- 52.9 to 157.2 (µg L^-1) cobalt and arsenic were in BDL and the values were within the limits of Indian drinking water standards (BIS 10500: 1991). The trace metals concentration in the sediment samples ranged from (mg kg^-1): Copper- 61.5 to 113.7, chromium- 138.4 to 177.5, cobalt- 33.2 to 42.7, cadmium- 1.0 to 2.1, lead- 57.9 to 103.4, Nickel- 36.1 to 56.6, Zinc- 51.2 to 102.1, Manganese- 610.8 to 1301.7 and Iron- 2.5 to 2.9%. In our study, four reliable indices such as Enrichment factor, Contamination factor, Geoaccumulation Index and Pollution Load Index were applied to estimate metal pollution and the results comparison are discussed below. The data generated were used to determine the quality of the sediments based on the enrichment factor, contamination factor and degree of contamination, geochemical index and Pollution Load Index (PLI).