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Temporal Distribution of Dissolved Trace Metal in the Coastal Waters of Southwestern Bay Of Bengal, India
Author(s) -
Padhi R.K.,
Biswas S.,
Mohanty A.K.,
Prabhu R.K.,
Satpathy K.K.,
Nayak L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143012x13560205144975
Subject(s) - bay , bengal , trace metal , environmental science , oceanography , trace (psycholinguistics) , water pollution , distribution (mathematics) , environmental chemistry , geology , metal , chemistry , organic chemistry , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics
The objective of the present study was to characterize the concentrations of selected dissolved trace metals in the coastal waters (500 m from shore) of Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, India. The order of dissolved concentration of these metals was found to be as follows: Co (cobalt) < Cd (cadmium) < Cr (chromium) < Mn (manganese) < Cu (copper) < Ni (nickel) < Pb (lead) < Zn (zinc). The levels of these trace metals were found to be relatively low as compared to the reported values for other Indian coastal waters, which indicates negligible pollution at this location. Cadmium was the only metal found to increase its concentration during the monsoon period, suggesting its allochthonous input. Factor analysis indicated that chromium, nickel, zinc, cobalt, copper, manganese, and lead were of common origin, and external inputs through land runoff had nominal or little impact, typifying in‐situ regeneration and remineralization linkage with their temporal variation. However, levels of zinc, cobalt, and copper remained relatively high during the summer period, and abrupt increases in their concentration during December (monsoon season) may be due to their dual (autochthonous as well as allochthonous) input.