Study of Metals Concentrations in Surface Sediments of the Persian Gulf Coastal Area (Bushehr Province)

Abstract

Since heavy metals are considered as one of the major pollutants threatening, the main goal of this study was to bring out the concentrations of Pb, Zn and Mn in the surface sediments off Bushehr in the Persian Gulf. For this purpose, after collection of samples, the concentrations of the three metals in surface sediments were measured through the atomic absorption. The results were compared with the mean of the elemental concentrations of Earth's crust, world's sediments and other areas of the Persian Gulf<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-small;">. </span></span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: xx-small;">Although the mean of concentrations in selected stations </span>were higher than the Persian Gulf's central section, in comparison with Earth's crust and world's sediments, it was revealed that the concentrations of Zn and Mn were much lower. Moreover, cluster analysis showed that the two elements, Zn and Mn, had the same behavior and the concentration of Pb was not changed by depth increase.