<smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"> Textural and trace elemental distribution in sediments of the Beypore estuary (SW coast of India) and adjoining innershelf </smarttagtype></smarttagtype>

Abstract

<smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"><smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"> The Beypore estuary, situated in Kerala along the southwest coast of India, receives large volumes of untreated/partially treated industrial effluents, municipal sewage and wastes. Concentrations of trace elements (Mn, Cr, Zn, Ni, Cu, Pb and Co) in 52 surficial sediment samples collected from the Chaliyar River, the Beypore estuary and the adjoining innershelf region are presented here. Textural characteristics, major elements and total organic carbon (TOC) content of the sediments have substantial influence on the elemental distribution. Significant variations in the concentrations of Mn, Cr, Zn, Ni, Cu, Pb and Co were observed in riverine and estuarine sediments whereas except for Mn, the variations are not so pronounced in the innershelf region. Both silt and clay show high positive loadings with all the elements in the estuarine region. However, in the innershelf sediments, the trace elements show better affinity with clay fraction than silt. TOC has significant positive correlation with trace elements in both estuarine and innershelf sediments. Trace elements are also associated with Fe, Al and Mn. Finer fractions and TOC played a major role in the distribution and retention of trace elements in the sediments. Except Cu, all the other trace elements showed considerable enrichment beyond st. 13 (downstream of effluent discharge point from the rayons factory), indicating the effect of industrial effluents on their incorporation in the sediments. Estuarine input has a profound influence on the trace metal flux in the immediate vicinity of the adjoining innershelf. </smarttagtype></smarttagtype></smarttagtype></smarttagtype>