Contaminations of groundwater by heavy metals due to agricultural activities are growing recently. The objective of this study
was to evaluate and map regional patterns of heavy metals (Cd, Zn and Cu) in groundwater on a plain with high agricultural
activities. The study was conducted to investigate the concentration of heavy metals and distribution in groundwater in regions
of Shush Danial and Andimeshk aquifers in the southern part of Iran. Presently, groundwater is the only appropriate and widely
used source of drinking water for rural and urban communities in this region. The region covers an area of 1,100 km2 between the Dez and Karkhe rivers, which lead to the Persian Gulf. For this study, the region was divided into four sub-regions
A, B, C and D. Additionally, 168 groundwater samples were collected from 42 water wells during the earlier months of 2004.
The flame atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS-Flame) was used to measure the concentration of heavy metals in water samples
and the Surfer software was used for determination of the contour map of metal distribution. The results demonstrated that
in all of the samples, Cd and Zn concentrations were below the EPA MCLG and EPA secondary standard, respectively. However,
the Cu contents of 4.8 % of all samples were higher than EPA MCL. It is also indicated that the concentrations of metals were
more pronounced at the southern part of the studied region than at the others. The analysis of fertilizers applied for agricultural
activities at this region also indicated that a great majority of the above-mentioned heavy metals were discharged into the
environment. Absence of confining layers, proximity to land surface, excess agricultural activities in the southern part and
groundwater flow direction that is generally from the north to the southern parts in this area make the southern region of
the Shush plain especially vulnerable to pollution by heavy metals than by other contaminants. 相似文献
The concentrations of twenty four chemical elements in the surface layer of natural desert soils and the cultivated farmland soils were measured at a desert-oasis ecotone in the middle of Heihe river basin, north-west China. Background values were estimated for (a) major elements (Si 335.3 g kg− 1, Al 49.4 g kg− 1, Fe 19.1 g kg− 1, Ca 29.4 g kg− 1, Mg 8.9 g kg− 1, K 20.1 g kg− 1, Na 17.5 g kg− 1 and P 0.338 g kg− 1), (b) heavy metals and non-metals (Cr 55.8 mg kg− 1, Mn 404.8 mg kg− 1, Ni 17.7 mg kg− 1, Cu 5.1 mg kg− 1, Zn 33.7 mg kg− 1, Pb 15.5 mg kg− 1 and As 5.2 mg kg− 1) and (c) other trace elements (Ti 2.0 mg kg− 1, V 55.3 mg kg− 1, Co 5.7 mg kg− 1, Rb 82.4 mg kg− 1, Sr 232.9 mg kg− 1, Y 14.7 mg kg− 1, Zr 194.9 mg kg− 1, Nb 7.8 mg kg− 1 and Ba 720.6 mg kg− 1). After natural desert soil was cultivated for agricultural use, significant changes in element concentrations occurred under tillage, irrigation and fertilisation management. Compared to natural soil, the for the levels of Si, K, Na, Sr, Zr and Ba decreased, and no changes were observed for Rb, while the values of the other 17 elements increase in agricultural soil from 1.2 to 3.5 times. However, their absolute concentrations are still low, suggesting that the arable soil in this region remains comparatively a clean soil. The increased silt, clay and organic carbon content, under long-term irrigation, enriched the fine-grained materials, and application of fertilisers and manure contributed to the accumulation of most elements in arable soil. The accumulation of elements in agricultural soil increased with increasing cultivation years and extent of soil development. 相似文献
Rock-magnetic measurements along with grain size, acid-insoluble residue (AIR), organic carbon (OC), CaCO3 and δ18O of the planktonic foraminifers of the sediments were determined for 15 gravity cores recovered from the western continental margin of India. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) values in the surficial sediments reflect the land-derived input and, in general, are the highest in terrigenous sediment-dominated sections of the cores off Saurashtra–Ratnagiri, followed by the sediments off Indus–Gulf of Kachchh and then Mangalore–Cape Comorin.
The down-core variations in mineral magnetic parameters reveal that the glacial sediments off the Indus are characterized by low MS values/S-ratios associated with high AIR-content, low OC/CaCO3 contents and relatively high δ18O values, while those off SW India are characterized by low MS values/high S-ratio% associated with low AIR content, and relatively high OC, CaCO3 and δ18O values. Conversely, the Early Holocene sediments of all cores are characterized by high MS values/S-ratio% associated with high AIR content, low OC, CaCO3 contents and gradually decreased δ18O values. These results imply that during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the cores off northwestern India received abundant continental supply leading to the predominance of eolian/fluvial sedimentation. In the SW region the influence of hinterland flux is less evident during this period, but convective mixing associated with the NE monsoon resulted in increased productivity. During the early Holocene intense SW monsoon conditions resulted in high precipitation on land, which in turn contributed increased AIR content/MS values in the continental margin sediments. A shallow water core off Kochi further suggests that the intense SW monsoon conditions prevailed until about 5 ka. The late Holocene organic-rich sediments of the SW margin of India were, however, subjected to early diagenesis at different intervals in the cores. Therefore, caution is needed when interpreting regional climatic change from down-core changes in sediment magnetic properties. 相似文献