Heavy metals in core sediments from the western Bay of Bengal: implications on historical pollution, eco-environmental risks, and potential sources

Abstract

The western Bay of Bengal is particularly susceptible to the harmful impacts of increasing coastal pollution, as coastal population and urban development are occurring at unprecedented rates. The rapid urbanization and industrialization along the east coast of India coupled with the transfer of contaminants into the Bay of Bengal through riverine systems, causing a direct impact on marine ecosystems. In the present study, an attempt has been made to understand the heavy metal distribution on shelf sediments in the western part of the Bay of Bengal to infer their source, processes, and historical changes in marine pollution. Three short sediment core samples were collected and analysed for sediment texture, organic matter, and heavy metals. Cores 1 and 2 contain a high amount of sand content, representing shallow marine with moderate to high-energy conditions, and were deposited at a recent time. Core 3 was dominated by muddy sand to sandy mud, which denotes calm sedimentation without any turbulence, and these sediments were deposited under relatively low-energy conditions. The higher concentration of organic matter in the top layers of the core indicates both marine and terrestrial input. The heavy metal contents show quite heterogeneous and variable distributions from one element to another and from one core to another. The calculated pollution indices such as Contamination Factor (CF), and Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) values indicate that all the core sub-samples are severely enriched and highly polluted by Cd and moderately polluted by Pb. The increased heavy metal concentration in the upper portion of the sediment cores and moderate to considerable ecological risks indicate that these metals have been deposited in the study area for the past few decades.

Keywords

Heavy metals / Geochemistry / Pollution Indices / Core sediments / Western Bay of Bengal / India

References

[1] Abuodha JOZ. Grain size distribution and composition of modern dune and beach sediments, Malindi Bay coast. Kenya Journal of African Earth Sciences, 2003, 36(1–2): 41-54

[2] Achyuthan H, Richardmohan D (2002) Trace metal concentrations in the sediments cores of Estuary and tidal zones between Chennai and Pondicherry, along the east coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci 31:141e149.

[3] Achyuthan H, Richardmohan D, Srinivasalu S, Selvaraj K. Heavy metals in the sediment cores of estuary and tidal zones from northern part of southeast coast of India. Indian J Mar Sci, 2002, 31: 141-149

[4] Adeleye, Adeyemi & Oranu, Ekene & Tao, Mengya & Keller, Arturo. (2016). Release and detection of nanosized copper from a commercial antifouling paint. Water Research. 102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2016.06.056.

[5] Alagarsamy R, Zhang J. Geochemicalcharacterization of major and trace ele-ments in the coastal sediments ofIndia. Environ. Monit. Assess., 2010, 161: 161-176

[6] Anbuselvan N, Senthil Nathan D. Clay minerals and organic matter in shelf sediments off Coromandel Coast of India: Implications for provenance, transportation and depositional processes. Cont Shelf Res, 2020, 198

[7] Anbuselvan N, Senthil Nathan D (2018) Benthic Foraminifera from Shelf Sediments of the Bay of Bengal, Central East Coast, India. Thalassas 34:13–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-017-0037-y

[8] Anbuselvan N, Senthil Nathan D, Sridharan M. Heavy metal assessment in surface sediments off Coromandel Coast of India: Implication on marine pollution. Mar Pollut Bull, 2018, 131: 712-726

[9] Anderson PR, Christensen TH. Distribution coefficients of Cd Co, Ni, and Zn in soils. J Soil Sci, 1988, 39(1): 15-22

[10] Anitha G, Kumar SP. Environmental Geochemistry of Elements in a Sediment Core off Thengapattanam Estuary, Southwest Coastal Zone, Tamilnadu. India Int j Res Chem Environ, 2014, 4(1): 12-24

[11] Ayyamperumal T, Jonathan MP, Srinivasalu S, Armstrong-Altrin JS, Ram-Mohan V. Assessment of acid leachable heavy metals in sediment cores from River Uppanar, Cuddalore, Southeast coast of India. Environ Pollut, 2006, 143: 34-45

[12] Badr NBE, El-Fiky AA, Mostafa AR, Al-Mur BA. Metal pollution records in core sediments of some Red Sea coastal areas, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Environ Monit Assess, 2009, 155: 509-526

[13] Barnes, M.A., Barnes, W.C., 1978. Organic compounds in lake sediments. Lakes 127. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1152-3_5.

[14] Ben Charrada, R., (1997). Study hydrodynamics and ecological of the complex gulf-lake of Tunis. Contribution to the modelling of the pelagic ecosystem of coastal waters gulf. Ph.D. Thesis, National Institute of Engineering of Tunis, Tunisia.

[15] Blossom, N. (2007). Copper in the ocean environment. Am Chemet Corp, 1–8.

[16] Brumsack H-J. The trace metal content of recent organic carbon-rich sediments: Implications for Cretaceous black shale formation. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol, 2006, 232(2–4): 344-361

[17] Carr MH, Turekian KK. Chromium in granitic rocks. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 1962, 26(3): 411-415

[18] Carvalho-e-Silva ML, Ramos AY, Tolentino HCN, Enzweiler J, Netto SM, Alves MDCM. Incorporation of Ni into natural goethite: An investigation by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Am Miner, 2003, 88(5–6): 876-882

[19] Chen H, Teng Y, Lu S, Wang Y, Wang J. Contamination features and health risk of soil heavy metals in China. Sci Total Environ, 2015, 512: 143-153

[20] Chrysochoou M, Theologou E, Bompoti N, et al. Occurrence, Origin and Transformation Processes of Geogenic Chromium in Soils and Sediments. Curr Pollution Rep, 2016, 2: 224-235

[21] Faganelli J, Malej A, Pezdic J, Malacic V. C:N: P ratios and stable C isotopic ratios as indicator of sources of organic matter in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic). Oceanol Acta, 1988, 11: 377-382

[22] Fleming BW. A revised textural classification of gravel-free muddy sediments on the basis of ternary diagrams. Cont Shelf Res, 2000, 20: 1125-1137

[23] Gan, J., Jia, X., Lin, Q., Li, C., Wang, Z., Zhou, G., ... & Lu, X. (2000). A primary study on ecological risk caused by the heavy metals in coastal sediments. J. Fish. China/Shuichan Xuebao, 24(6), 533–538.

[24] Goldhaber MB, Kaplan IR. Apparent dissociation constants of hydrogen sulfide in chloride solutions. Mar Chem, 1975, 3(2): 83-104

[25] Gopal V, Krishnamurthy RR, Kiran DRS, Magesh NS, Jayaprakash M. Heavy metal contamination in the marine sediments off Point Calimere, Southeast coast of India. Mar Pollut Bull, 2020, 161

[26] Govil P, Reddy G, Krishna A. Contamination of soil due to heavy metals in the Patancheru industrial development area, Andhra Pradesh, India. Environ Geol, 2001, 41: 461-469

[27] Grant A, Middleton R. An assessment of metal contamination of sediments in the Humber Estuary. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 1990, 31: 71-85

[28] Hakanson L. An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control. A sedimentological approach. Water Res, 1980, 14(8): 975-1001

[29] Harikumar PS, Nasir UP, Rahman MPM. Distribution of heavy metals in the core sediments of a tropical wetland system. Int J Environ Sci Technol, 2009, 6: 225-232

[30] Hedges JI, Baldock JA, Gélinas Y, Lee C, Peterson ML, Wakeham SG. The biochemical and elemental compositions of marine plankton: A NMR perspective. Mar Chem, 2002, 78(1): 47-63

[31] Imhansoloeva TM, Akintoye AE, Mayowa IP, Abdulkarim R, Oguwuike ID, Olubukola S, et al. Numerical Assessment and Analysis of TexturalDeposits of beach Sediment: A Case Study of Ajah (Okun Mopo) Beach LagosSouth West Nigeria. Nat Sci, 2011, 9: 165-174

[32] Janaki-Raman D, Jonathan MP, Srinivasalu S, Armstrong-Altrin JS, Mohan SP, Ram-Mohan V. Heavy metal enrichments in core sediments in Muthupet mangroves, SE coast of India: application of acid leachable technique. Environ Pollut, 2007, 145: 245-257

[33] Järup L, Akesson A. Current status of cadmium as an environmental health problem. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 2009, 238(3): 201-208 Epub 2009 May 3 PMID: 19409405

[34] Jayaraju N, Surya Kumar I, Reddy KR. Foraminiferal species densities and Environmental variables of Pulicat Lake, Southeast coast of India. J Geol Soc India, 2007, 70: 829-836

[35] Jayaraju N, Sundara Raja Reddy BC, Reddy KR. The response of benthic foraminifera to various pollution sources: a study from Nellore Coast. East Coast of India. Environ Monit Assess, 2008, 142: 319-323

[36] Jayaraju N, Reddy BCSR, Reddy KR, Reddy AN. Impact of Iron Ore Tailing on Foraminifera of the Uppateru River Estuary, East Coast of India. J Environ Prot, 2011, 02(03): 213-220

[37] Jeshma P, Gandhi MS, Rao NR. Benthic foraminifera and geochemical assessment of Puravadaiyanar and Vettar estuaries, Karaikal, southeast coast of India—Implication for pollution monitoring studies. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 2017, 9: 76-88

[38] Jonathan MP, Ram-Mohan V, Srinivasalu S. Geochemical variations of major and trace elements in recent sediments, off the Gulf of Mannar, southeast coast of India. Environ. Geol., 2004, 45: 466-480

[39] Jonathan MP, Sarkar SK, Roy PD, Alam MA, Chatterjee M, Bhattacharya BD, Satpathy KK (2010) Acid leachable trace metals in sediment cores from Sunderban Mangrove Wetland, India: An approach towards regular monitoring. Ecotoxicology 19:405e418

[40] Kabata-Pendias A, Pendias H. Trace Elements in Soils and Plants, 2001 3 Boca Raton: CRC Press 403

[41] Kalaivanan R, Jayaprakash M, Nethaji S, Arya V, Giridharan L. Geochemistry of Core sediments from tropical mangrove region of Tamil Nadu: implications on heavy metals. J Earth Sci Clim Change, 2017, 8(385): 2

[42] Kim T, Lee C, Kwon I, Lee J, Park SY, Kim DU, ... Khim JS (2024) Integrated assessment of the natural purification capacity of tidal flat for persistent toxic substances and heavy metals in contaminated sediments. Environ Int 185:108534.

[43] Kirubakaran, N., Nathan, D. S., Sridharan, M., Harikrishnan, S., Rajamanickam, M., & Anbuselvan, N. (2024). Chemometric heavy metal contamination in tropical Indian estuaries: Implications for source identification. Geosystems and Geoenvironment, 100316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geogeo.2024.100316

[44] Krumgalz BS, Fainshtein G, Cohen A. Grain size effect on anthropogenic trace metal and organic matter distribution in marine sediments. Sci Total Environ, 1992, 116(1–2): 15-30

[45] Lemenkova P. Sediment thickness in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea compared with topography and geophysical settings by GMT. Ovidius University Annals of Constanta - Series Civil Engineering, 2020, 22(1): 13-21

[46] Lin TP, Teng TP, Chang TK (2002) Multivariate analysis of soil heavy metal pollu-tion and land scape pattern in Changhua County in Taiwan. Landsc Urban Plan 62:19–35

[47] Little SH, Vance D, Lyons TW, McManus J. Controls on heavy metal authigenic enrichment in reducing sediments: Insights from modern oxygen-deficient settings. Am J Sci, 2015, 315(2): 77-119

[48] Liu KY, Liu Y, Zhou H, Li L, Zheng J, Zhang X, Zheng J, Pan G. Abundance, composition and activity denitrifier communities in metal polluted paddy soils. Sci Rep, 2016, 6: 19086

[49] Manjunatha BR, Shankar R. The influence of rivers on the geochemistry of shelf sediments, southwestern coast of India. Environ Geol, 1997, 31(1–2): 107-116

[50] McLennan, S. M. (2001). Relationships between the trace element composition of sedimentary rocks and upper continental crust. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2(4). Portico. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000gc000109

[51] Meyers PA. Applications of organic geochemistry to paleolimnological reconstructions: a summary of examples from the Laurentian Great Lakes. Org Geochem, 2003, 34(2): 261-289

[52] Meyers PA, Ishiwatari R. Lacustrine organic geochemistry—an overview of indicators of organic matter sources and diagenesis in lake sediments. Org Geochem, 1993, 20(7): 867-900

[53] Mohanty, P.K., Pradhan, Y., Nayak, S.R., Panda, U.S., Mohapatra, G.N. (2008). Sediment Dispersion in the Bay of Bengal. In: Mohanty, P.K. (eds) Monitoring and Modelling Lakes and Coastal Environments. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6646-7_5

[54] Muller G. Index of geoaccumulation in the sediments of the Rhine River. Geo Journal, 1969, 2: 108-118

[55] Nair M, Sujatha CH. Environmental Geochemistry of Core Sediment in the Cochin Estuary (CE). India Research Journal of Chemical Sciences, 2013, 3(4): 65-69

[56] Nirmala K, Ramesh R, Ambujam NK, Arumugam K, Srinivasalu S. Geochemistry of surface sediments of a tropical brackish water lake in South Asia. Environ Earth Sci, 2016, 75: 247

[57] Panzeca C, Beck AJ, Tovar-Sanchez A, Segovia-Zavala J, Taylor GT, Gobler CJ, Sañudo-Wilhelmy SA. Distributions of dissolved vitamin B12 and Co in coastal and open-ocean environments. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 2009, 85(2): 223-230

[58] Pekey H, Karakaş D, Ayberk S, Tolun L, Bakoglu M. Ecological risk assessment using heavy elements from surface sediments of Izmit Bay (Northeastern Marmara Sea) Turkey. Mar Pollut Bull, 2004, 48: 946-953

[59] Pellerin BA, Wollheim WM, Hopkinson CS, McDowell WH, Williams MR, Vörösmarty CJ, Daley ML. Role of wetlands and developed land use on dissolved organic nitrogen concentrations and DON/TDN in northeastern U.S. rivers and streams. Limnol Oceanogr 2004;49(4):910–918. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2004.49.4.0910.

[60] Perkins RB, Mason CE. The relative mobility of heavy elements from short-term weathering of a black shale. Appl Geochem, 2015, 56: 67-79

[61] Rajamanickam GV, Setty MGAP. Distribution of phosphorus and organic carbon in the nearshore sediments of Goa. Indian J Mar Sci, 1973, 2: 84-89

[62] Ramasamy S, Krishnakumar S, Pitchaimani VS, Parthasarathy P, Ramachandran AA. Assessment of trace element accumulation in core sediments, Bay of Bengal, South east coast of India. J Appl Geochem, 2015, 17(3): 342-351

[63] Ramesh R, Purvaja R, Ramesh S, James RA. Historical pollution trends in coastal environments of India. Environ Monit Assess, 2002, 79: 151-176

[64] Rangel-Buitrago N, Rizzo A, Neal WJ, Mastronuzzi G. Sediment pollution in coastal and marine environments. Mar Pollut Bull, 2023, 192

[65] Rao ChM. Distribution of suspended particulate matter in the waters of eastern continental margin of India. Indian J Mar Sci, 1985, 14: 14-19

[66] Ruiz F. Trace metals in estuarine sediments from the southwestern Spanish coast. Mar Pollut Bull, 2001, 42(6): 481-489

[67] Sadanandan, H., Dharmalingam, S. N., Sridharan, M., Thanveer, J., Gopakumar, G., & Mohanty, O. S. (2024). Textural and geochemical evaluation of the surface sediments from the continental shelf of Southwestern Bay of Bengal, India. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 17(9). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-024-12055-7

[68] Sagheer AA. Geochemistry in surface sediments of the Kwar Katib lagoon, Red sea. Yemen J Environ Res Manag, 2013, 4(4): 242-248

[69] Selvaraj K, Ram Mohan V, Piotr S. Evaluation of metal contamination in coastal sediments of the Bay of Bengal, India: geochemical and statistical approaches. Mar Pollut Bull, 2004, 49(2004): 174-185

[70] Seshan BRR, Natesan U, Deepthi K. Geochemical and statistical approach for evaluation of heavy metal pollution in core sediments in southeast coast of India. Int J Environ Sci Technol, 2010, 7: 291-306

[71] Shaw TJ, Gieskes JM, Jahnke RA. Early diagenesis in differing depositional environments: the response of transition metals in pore water. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 1990, 54(5): 1233-1246

[72] Shiraki K. Geochemical Behavior of Chromium Shigen-Chishitsu, 1997, 47(6): 319-330

[73] Sidhu, P. S., Gilkes, R. J., & Posner, A. M. (1980). The Behavior of Co, Ni, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Cr in Magnetite during Alteration to Maghemite and Hematite. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 44(1), 135–138. Portico. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400010028x

[74] Sreenivasulu G, Jayaraju N, Reddy SR, B. C., Lakshmi Prasad, T., Lakshmanna, B., Nagalakshmi, K., & Prashanth, M.. River mouth dynamics of Swarnamukhi estuary, Nellore coast, southeast coast of India. Geodesy and Geodynamics, 2016, 7(6): 387-395

[75] Sundararajan M, Natesan U (2010) Geochemistry of elements in core sediments near Point Claimere, the Southeast Coast of India. Int. J. Environ. Res. 4 (3), 379–394 (ISSN: 1735–6865).

[76] Sundararajan M, Natesan U. Environmental geochemistry of core sediments from Serthalaikkadu creek, East coast of India. Environmental Earth Sciences, 2011, 62(3): 493-506

[77] Sundararajan M, Srinivasalu S. Geochemistry of core sediments from Gulf of Mannar, India. International. J Environ Res, 2010, 4(4): 861-876

[78] Tanner PA, Leong LS. Metals in marine sediment core from near Ma Wan, Hong Kong. Water Air Soil Pollut, 2000, 121: 309-325

[79] Taylor SR. Abundance of chemical elements in the continental crust: a new table. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 1964, 28: 1273-1286

[80] Taylor SR, McLennan SM (1985) The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. xvi + 312 pp. Oxford, London, Edinburgh, Boston, Palo Alto, Melbourne: Blackwell Scientific. Price £16.80 (paperback). ISBN 0 632 01148 3. Geol Mag 122(6):673–674. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0016756800032167.

[81] Tessier A, Campbell PGC, Bisson M. Sequential extraction procedure for thespeciation of particulate trace metals. Anal Chem, 1979, 51: 844-851

[82] Tomlinson DL, Wilson JG, Harris CR, Jeffrey DW. Problems in the assessment of heavy-metal levels in estuaries and the formation of a pollution index. Helgol Meeresunters, 1980, 33: 566-575

[83] Tovar-Sánchez A, Sañudo-Wilhelmy SA, Flegal AR. Temporal and spatial variations in the biogeochemical cycling of cobalt in two urban estuaries: Hudson River Estuary and San Francisco Bay. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 2004, 60(4): 717-728

[84] Tovar-Sánchez A, Sañudo-Wilhelmy A, Sergio F, Russell A. Temporal and spatial variations in the biogeochemical cycling of cobalt in two urban estuaries: Hudson River Estuary and San Francisco Bay. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 2004, 60(4): 717-728

[85] Tribovillard N, Algeo TJ, Lyons T, Riboulleau A. Heavy metals as paleoredox and paleoproductivity proxies: an update. Chem Geol, 2006, 232(1–2): 12-32

[86] Tripathy GR, Singh SK, Ramaswamy V. Major and trace element geochemistry of Bay of Bengal sediments: Implications to provenances and their controlling factors. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol, 2014, 397: 20-30

[87] Veerasingam S, Venkatachalapathy R, Ramkumar T. Historical environmental pollution trend and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in marine sediments off Adyar estuary, Bay of Bengal, India. Environ Earth Sci, 2014, 71: 3963-3975

[88] Veerasingam S, Vethamony P, Murali RM, Fernandes B. Depositional record of heavy metals and degree of contamination in core sediments from the Mandovi estuarine mangrove ecosystem, west coast of India. Mar Pollut Bull, 2015, 91(1): 362-367

[89] Venkatachalapathy R, Veerasingam S, Basavaiah N, Ramkumar T, Deenadayalan K. Environmental magnetic and petroleum hydrocarbons records in sediment cores from the northeast coast of Tamil Nadu, Bay of Bengal, India. Mar Pollut Bull, 2011, 62: 681-690

[90] Von Der Heyden BP, Roychoudhury AN. A review of colloidal iron partitioning and distribution in the open ocean. Mar Chem, 2015, 177: 9-19

[91] Wang L, Ji B, Hu Y, Liu R, Sun W. A review on in situ phytoremediation of mine tailings. Chemosphere, 2017, 184: 594-600

[92] Wang QR, Li YC, Wang Y. Optimizing the weight loss-on-ignition methodology to quantify organic and carbonate carbon of sediments from diverse sources. Environ Monit Assess, 2011, 174: 241-257

[93] Wang X, Smethurst P, Herbert A. Relationships between three measures of organic matter or carbon in soils of eucalypt plantations in Tasmania. Soil Research, 1996, 34(4): 545

[94] Wang Z, Wang Y, Chen L, Yan C, Yan Y, Chi Q. Assessment of metal contamination in coastal sediments of the Maluan Bay (China) using geochemical indices and multivariate statistical approaches. Mar Pollut Bull, 2015, 99(1–2): 43-53

[95] Yasar D, Aksu AE, Uslu O. Anthropogenic pollution in Izmit Bay: heavy metal sin surface sediments. Turk J Eng Environ Sci, 2001, 25: 299-313

[96] Zheng N, Wang Q, Liang Z, Zheng D. Characterization of heavy metal concentrations in the sediments of three freshwater rivers in Huludao City. Northeast China Environmental Pollution, 2008, 154(1): 135-142