Distributions of Heavy Metals

On the whole, Cd and Pb were similar to the fine grain size sediment distributions (Fig. 3.64). Inshore areas were higher than offshore, and the high content area matched area I, whose fine grain size components took up more than 67% parts in sediments. Cd s high areas had bimodal distribution. 

The distribution of As showed a northern part higher than the south and trends in the east (near Korea) a little higher than that in the west (near China). In detail, A section, which is near the northern YS, was the high content area, most of the above background value stations appeared there, and A1 station was the peak. The inshore areas near Jiangsu Province of China, as well as D section which faced the Yangtze River Estuary, were low content areas, with the average only half that of A section. This unique distribution pattern exposed the different characteristics between metalloid and metals, such as sorption, enrichment, transformation, and chemical reaction. 

The distribution of Hg was in a class by itself. It can be divided by 34° N into north and south parts. In the north, Hg was similar to Cu in the same area, with two sub-high content areas centered around B3-B4 and B7-B8. In the north, there was a large-scale high area in D section whose content decreased from estuary to offshore area. Seeking the cause, this may be the result of a fresh and salt water mixture, which accelerated the absorbed Hg in the solids so as to be deposited in sediments by coacervation. The average of Hg was 0.025 mg/kg, and most of the stations went beyond the backgroimd value of 0.016 mg/kg, but still much less than the first class limit of Marine Sediment Quality (0.20 mg/kg). 

According to the similarity or dissimilarity of the heavy metal distribution types, we can divide Jiaozhou Bay into several geochemical areas. Every area was consistent with a specific sedimentary environment, water dynamics, and sediment type. We compared those areas and abstracted four distinct areas. 

This area accorded with central YS mud, had a modern sedimentary environment and relatively stable water dynamics (in the cold eddy of SYS currents). Fine grain size sediment (clay) dominated the sediments, and most of the metals existed in detritus form. 

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Moral R., Gilkes R.J., Jordan M.M. Distribution of heavy metals in calcareous and non-calcareous soils in Spain. Water Air Soil Pollut 2005 162 127-142. 

Anderlini, V. 1974. The distribution of heavy metals in the red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, on the California coast. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 2 253-265. 

Butterworth, J., P. Lester, and G. Nickless. 1972. Distribution of heavy metals in the Severn Estuary. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 3 72-74. 

Marcovecchio, J.E., V.J. Moreno, R.O. Bastida, M.S. Gerpe, and D.H. Rodriguez. 1990. Tissue distribution of heavy metals in small cetaceans from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 21 299-304. 

Miramand, R and D. Bentley. 1992. Concentration and distribution of heavy metals of two cephalopods, Eledone cirrhosa and Sepia officinalis, from the French coast of the English Channel. Mar Biol. 114 407-414. 

Fujise, Y., K. Honda, R. Tatsukawa, and S. Mishima. 1988. Tissue distribution of heavy metals in Dali s porpoise in the northwestern Pacific. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 19 226-230. 

Electron probe and X-ray fluorescence methods of analysis are used for rather different but complementary purposes. The ability to provide an elemental spot analysis is the important characteristic of electron probe methods, which thus find use in analytical problems where the composition of the specimen changes over short distances. The examination of the distribution of heavy metals within the cellular structure of biological specimens, the distribution of metal crystallites on the surface of heterogeneous catalysts, or the differences in composition in the region of surface irregularities and faults in alloys, are all important examples of this application. Figure 8.45 illustrates the analysis of parts of a biological cell just 1 pm apart. Combination of electron probe analysis with electron microscopy enables visual examination to be used to identify the areas of interest prior to the analytical measurement. 

In Desert ecosystems similar to Steppe ecosystems the plants distinctly exhibit their biogeochemical specificity. We can consider the distribution of heavy metals in Dry Desert ecosystems of the Ustyurt Plateau, Kazakhstan, with predominance of wormwood (Artemisia terrae albae) and saxaul (Anabasis salsa). In rubble stone territories, of common occurrence is the dense shrubbery of Sasola anbuscula. Most elements found in the wormwood occur in their highest concentrations. In the roots of the wormwood and saxaul, higher contents of Mn, Cu, Mo, and Sr have been monitored, whereas the aerial parts contain more Ti, V, and Zr. We can see that the root elements are most biologically active and those in aerial parts, more inert. Possibly their presence was related to the dust exposure and deposition on the plant exterior (see above). 

Sources of Heavy Metals and Their Distribution in the Environment Global distribution of heavy metals in the biosphere is related to their technophility that is determined as the ratio of global annual exploration to their average concentrations in the Earth s core (Table 2). 

The sorptive nature of bacterial or algal exterior membranes is well-documented [118-122]. Biological particles can influence the distribution of heavy metals in natural waters because the functional groups on the cell surfaces are able to bind certain metal ions [124]. 

Moore JW, Sutherland DJ. 1981. Distribution of heavy metals and radionuclides in sediments, water, and fish in an area of Great Bear Lake contaminated with mine wastes. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 10 329-338. 

Zereini F, Alt F, Messerschmidt J, Wiseman C, Feldmann I, Von Bohlen A, Muller J, Liebl K, Piittmann W (2005) Concentration distribution of heavy metals in urban airborne particulate matter in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Environ Sci Technol 39(9) 2983-2989... 

Figure 6.13 shows the distribution of heavy metal concentrations along the AYRS constructed by means of a computer experiment. We see that there are three maxima of heavy metal concentrations located at distances from Lake Baikal of 200 km, 1,200 km, and 2,000 km. This is the result of the distribution of pollution sources along the river system. The AYRS neutralizes pollutants over a distance of... 

Figure 6.13. Distribution of heavy metal concentration in water (dashed line) and in sediments (solid line) as a function of distance x from Lake Baikal. The signs O and + correspond to the measured concentrations of metals in the water and sediment, respectively. The quantities...

The mean error for all the elements studied is 20.1%, which means that the influence of water components on the variation of the metal distribution coefficients can be predicted with an error of approximately 20%. The errors can be explained by sediment transport processes, inhomogeneities in the water phase during the sampling process, and biochemical processes in the complex river system. Otherwise, it is possible to describe the distribution of heavy metals between the water phase and the sediment in the... 

Tam, N.F.Y. and Wong, Y.S. (1996) Retention and distribution of heavy metals in mangrove soils receiving wastewater. Environ. Poll., 94, 283-291. 

Metal concentrations and metal activities in the pore water are dependent upon both the metal concentration in the solid phase and the composition of both the solid and the liquid phase. In matrix extrapolation, and with emphasis on the pore water exposure route, it is therefore of great practical importance to have a quantitative understanding of the distribution of heavy metals over the solid phase and the pore water. A relatively simple approach for calculating the distribution of heavy metals in soils is the equilibrium-partitioning (EP) concept (Shea 1988 van der Kooij et al. 1991). The EP concept assumes that chemical concentrations among environmental compartments are at equilibrium and that the partitioning of metals among environmental compartments can be predicted based on partition coefficients. The partition coefficient, Kp, used to calculate the distribution of heavy metals over solid phase and pore water is defined as... 

Kv is not a constant and may vary by several orders of magnitude. It is affected by element properties and both solid phase and pore water characteristics. Knowledge of the relationship between soil characteristics and Kp values enables the calculation of the distribution of heavy metals over the solid phase and pore water for different soils. When coupled to an uptake model for metals by biota that are directly or indirectly exposed via the pore water, the relationships for predicting Kp values may be used to predict metal uptake for these organisms on the basis of the metal concentration in the solid phase and some selected soil properties. The latter should, like the total concentrations, be easily determinable. 

Bottom sediments in the coastal zone of the sea may be polluted with copper, zinc, nickel and cadmium. The highest levels of toxic heavy metals are found in the mouths of rivers. The bottom sediments in the Black Sea have a high mercury level—from 0.28 to 0.40 pg/1. In the coastal waters of the Krasnodar Territory the mercury level is 0.15-1.55 pg/1, while its maximum concentrations are registered in the Danube and Dnieper mouth areas. The Danube alone brings annually up to 50-60 tons of mercury, while the Dnieper brings up to 5 tons. The distribution of heavy metals in bottom sediments in the Russian shelf of the Black Sea is not uniform. Their greatest quantities are accumulated in sediments in the deepest part of the shelf where their concentration is 3-5 times higher than in sediments in the shallower part. Toxic metals contained in sea water in the dissolved and suspended forms are ac-... 

Leckie J. O. and Nelson M. B. (1975) Role of natural hetrerogeneous sulfide systems in controlling the concentration and distribution of heavy metals. Paper presented at the Second International Symposirrm on Environmental Biogeochemistry, Ontario, Canada. 

Dukhanin, A.S., 1990. Distribution of heavy metals in gas samples from mineral deposits. Abstracts of the Second All-union Conference for Inorganic Gas Analysis. Leningrad State Univ. pp. 255-256 (in Russian). 

Putikov, O.F. and Wen, B., 1997. Mathematical and physico-chemical modelling of concentration distribution of heavy metals in "stream" halos of dispersion. Abstracts of International Geophysical Conference, Moscow 97, G.2-8,1 p. 

K. Honda, Y. Yamamoto, R. Tatsukawa, Distribution of heavy metals in Antarctic marine ecosystem. Proceedings of the NIPR Symposium on Polar Biology, 1 (1987), 184-197. 

Martin, M.H., Duncan, E.M. and Coughtrey, P.J. (1982) The distribution of heavy metals in a contaminated woodland ecosystem. Environmental Pollution (Series B), 3, 147-157. 

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