Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo

Miri city has a dynamic coastal environment, mainly influenced by intensive sedimentation from the Baram River and excessive trace metal loading by the Miri River, which are significant environmental concerns. As the mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity of the trace metals in the sediments are la...

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Main Authors: Anandkumar, A., Nagarajan, Nagarajan, Sellappa Gounder, Eswaramoorthi, Prabakaran, K.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88211
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author Anandkumar, A.
Nagarajan, Nagarajan
Sellappa Gounder, Eswaramoorthi
Prabakaran, K.
author_facet Anandkumar, A.
Nagarajan, Nagarajan
Sellappa Gounder, Eswaramoorthi
Prabakaran, K.
author_sort Anandkumar, A.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Miri city has a dynamic coastal environment, mainly influenced by intensive sedimentation from the Baram River and excessive trace metal loading by the Miri River, which are significant environmental concerns. As the mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity of the trace metals in the sediments are largely controlled by their particulate speciation, the modified BCR sequential extraction protocol was applied to determine the particulate speciation of trace metals in the coastal sediments of Miri, to unravel the seasonal geochemical processes responsible for known observations, and to identify possible sources of these trace metals. The granulometric analysis results showed that littoral currents aided by the monsoonal winds have influenced the grain size distribution of the sediments, enabling us to divide the study area into north-east and south-west segments where the geochemical composition are distinct. The Cu (>84%) and Zn (82%) concentrations are predominantly associated with the exchangeable fraction, which is readily bioavailable. Pb and Cd are dominant in non-residual fractions and other metals viz., Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, and Cr are dominant in the residual fraction. Using Pearson's correlation and factor analysis, the major mechanisms controlling the chemistry of the sediments are identified as association of Cu and Zn with fine fraction sediments, sulphide oxidation in the SW segment of the study area, atmospheric fallout of Pb and Cd in the river basins, precipitation of dissolved Fe and Mn supplied from the rivers and remobilization of Mn from the coastal sediments. Based on various pollution indices, it is inferred that the coastal sediments of NW Borneo are contaminated with Cu and Zn, and are largely bioavailable, which can be a threat to the local aquatic organisms, coral reefs, and coastal mangroves.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-882112023-09-19T03:31:41Z Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo Anandkumar, A. Nagarajan, Nagarajan Sellappa Gounder, Eswaramoorthi Prabakaran, K. BCR sequential Extraction Contamination factor Geo-accumulation index Miri coast Risk assessment code Borneo Environmental Monitoring Geologic Sediments Metals, Heavy Risk Assessment Rivers Seasons Water Pollutants, Chemical Miri city has a dynamic coastal environment, mainly influenced by intensive sedimentation from the Baram River and excessive trace metal loading by the Miri River, which are significant environmental concerns. As the mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity of the trace metals in the sediments are largely controlled by their particulate speciation, the modified BCR sequential extraction protocol was applied to determine the particulate speciation of trace metals in the coastal sediments of Miri, to unravel the seasonal geochemical processes responsible for known observations, and to identify possible sources of these trace metals. The granulometric analysis results showed that littoral currents aided by the monsoonal winds have influenced the grain size distribution of the sediments, enabling us to divide the study area into north-east and south-west segments where the geochemical composition are distinct. The Cu (>84%) and Zn (82%) concentrations are predominantly associated with the exchangeable fraction, which is readily bioavailable. Pb and Cd are dominant in non-residual fractions and other metals viz., Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, and Cr are dominant in the residual fraction. Using Pearson's correlation and factor analysis, the major mechanisms controlling the chemistry of the sediments are identified as association of Cu and Zn with fine fraction sediments, sulphide oxidation in the SW segment of the study area, atmospheric fallout of Pb and Cd in the river basins, precipitation of dissolved Fe and Mn supplied from the rivers and remobilization of Mn from the coastal sediments. Based on various pollution indices, it is inferred that the coastal sediments of NW Borneo are contaminated with Cu and Zn, and are largely bioavailable, which can be a threat to the local aquatic organisms, coral reefs, and coastal mangroves. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88211 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132069 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ fulltext
spellingShingle BCR sequential Extraction
Contamination factor
Geo-accumulation index
Miri coast
Risk assessment code
Borneo
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments
Metals, Heavy
Risk Assessment
Rivers
Seasons
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Anandkumar, A.
Nagarajan, Nagarajan
Sellappa Gounder, Eswaramoorthi
Prabakaran, K.
Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo
title Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo
title_full Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo
title_fullStr Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo
title_full_unstemmed Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo
title_short Seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of NW Borneo
title_sort seasonal variation and mobility of trace metals in the beach sediments of nw borneo
topic BCR sequential Extraction
Contamination factor
Geo-accumulation index
Miri coast
Risk assessment code
Borneo
Environmental Monitoring
Geologic Sediments
Metals, Heavy
Risk Assessment
Rivers
Seasons
Water Pollutants, Chemical
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88211