Effect of rainfall and antecedent dry periods on heavy metal loading of sediments on urban roads

Abstract

Concentration and mass loadings of heavy metals adsorbed on sediment from an urban road surface in Beijing were investigated. The buildup and washoff processes are discussed. Results showed that masses of sediments smaller than 500 μm in diameter varied from 11.2 to 25.5 g/m². On average, sediments smaller than 125€μm accounted for 42.9% of sediments smaller than 500 μm in mass. Cd, Cr, Cu, and Ni were more likely to attach to smaller sediments than bigger ones, compared to Pb and Zn. Mass loading of the sediments generally increased with antecedent dry periods, but the linear relationship was better for smaller sediments than for bigger ones. Heavy metal concentrations adsorbed on sediments with diameter less than 40€μm generally decreased more obviously than those adsorbed on bigger ones after rainfall events.

Keywords

antecedent dry periods / heavy metals / rainfall events / sediments

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant No. 2006CB403303), National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. 50625926), National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scholars (Grant No. 50809006), and Special Foundation from the State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation (Grant 08ESPCT-Y). The authors are grateful for their support.

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg