ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Spatial Distribution and Seasonal Variation of Heavy Metals in Water and Sediments of Taihu Lake
Jin Zeng1, Liuyan Yang1, 2, Xiaofeng Chen2, Xiaoming Chuai2, Qinglong L. Wu1
 
More details
Hide details
 
1State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, East Beijing Road 73, Nanjing 210008, China
2State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment,
Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
 
 
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2012;21(5):1489-1496
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Heavy metal distribution in aquatic ecosystems can be influenced by a variety of factors. In this study, the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, and Pb) in lake water and sediments of different lake zones of a large, shallow, eutrophic freshwater lake, Taihu Lake, were investigated. Metal concentrations in the river water, bloom assemblages, and macrophyte materials were also determined. The results demonstrated that metal distribution in Taihu Lake showed distinct patterns in different seasons. Metal concentrations in rivers around Taihu Lake showed some peaks that may contribute to the elevated metal concentrations in lake water and sediments. However, the metal concentrations in the river water did not fluctuate significantly with months (March, July, and December). The dissolved metal concentrations in the phytoplankton-dominated zone of the lake were significantly higher than those in the macrophyte-dominated lake zone in summer, which could be attributed to the different dominated primary producers in the two lake zones. Statistical analysis results demonstrated that the dissolved metal concentrations were positively correlated with water turbidity for all metals in July. However, the positive correlations disappeared for most metals of March and December samples. The results of this study could provide useful information for further understanding of the transportation and fates of heavy metals in different freshwater lake ecosystems.
eISSN:2083-5906
ISSN:1230-1485
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top