Distribution of five heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn) and some physicochemical variables were studied from ten sites (S1-S10) in filtered water, suspended particles, and sediment samples from Gansu Province, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions of the Yellow River in Northern China. The results showed that heavy metal concentrations in filtered water were relatively lower, while they were higher and approximated in suspended particles and sediment samples. Metal chemical fractions showed that high proportions of Cd were found in the exchangeable fractions, while others likely to be existed in lithology. Heavy metal pollution index (HPI) indicated that the quality of filtered water was relatively better, and the potential ecological risk index (PERI) revealed that only Cd has the higher ecological risk in suspended particles and sediment samples, which is accordance with the results obtained by the chemical fractions analysis; at the same time, the higher ecological risks existed in S3, S6, S9, and S10 in suspended particles and sediment samples due to the waste emission of a variety of industries. Results of cluster analysis (CA) indicated that contamination sources in the sediment samples were from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities.
Keywords: Aqueous system; Distribution; Heavy metal; Risk assessment; Source identification; Yellow River.