Trace elements accumulation over a century in sediment cores from a tectonic lake on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau: Source identification and risk assessment

Qiugui Wang; Jinlong Wang; Qiangqiang Zhong; Weigang Su; Yujun Ma; Jinzhou Du; Tangfu Xiao

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117030

Trace elements accumulation over a century in sediment cores from a tectonic lake on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau: Source identification and risk assessment

J Environ Manage. 2023 Mar 1:329:117030. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117030. Epub 2022 Dec 28.

Authors

Qiugui Wang¹, Jinlong Wang², Qiangqiang Zhong³, Weigang Su⁴, Yujun Ma⁵, Jinzhou Du², Tangfu Xiao⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), Qinghai Normal University, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
³ Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.
⁴ Qinghai Earthquake Agency, Xining 810001, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), Qinghai Normal University, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory for Water Quality and Conservation of the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: tfxiao@gzhu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36584509
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117030

Abstract

A record of trace elements in lake sediment can help in assessing the impact of anthropogenic activities on aquatic environments. In the present work, the trace elements profiles (Cu, Cr, Pb, Zn, As, and Cd) were determined in four sediment cores (QH01, QH02, QH07, and Z04) collected in 2012 and 2014 from Lake Qinghai to reconstruct the history of anthropogenic activity in the watershed and to evaluate the pollution status and eco-environmental risks of a typical Third Pole lake environment over the past century. The concentrations of Cu, Cr, Pb, Zn, As, and Cd in these studies ranged between 19.4 and 34.2 μg g^-1, 35.6-53.6 μg g^-1, 3.10-26.8 μg g^-1, 56.4-93.5 μg g^-1, 6.20-15.3 μg g^-1, and 0.086-0.572 μg g^-1, respectively. Statistical analyses indicated that the Pb, Zn, and Cd contents combination of coal, gasoline burning, and agricultural activities in the Lake Qinghai catchment and larger-scale atmospheric inputs during the past 60 years. The enrichment factors for Pb, Zn, and Cd in the sediments of Lake Qinghai are considered to be related to the region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and national socioeconomic development. Enrich factor of Cd values was higher than 3.5 and maximum values of the geo-accumulation index of Pb and Cd were observed in the top layer of the sediment (0-2 cm), indicating moderate contamination. The RI values suggest that the risks to the ecological environment of Lake Qinghai are increasing since the 1950s. The results of this study illustrate that Lake Qinghai is still experiencing high trace elements pollution pressure due to the rapid environmental changes caused by anthropogenic activities on the remote and isolated Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Keywords: Ecological risk assessment; Lake Qinghai; Sediment; Source identification; Trace element.

MeSH terms

Cadmium
China
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Geologic Sediments
Lead
Metals, Heavy* / analysis
Risk Assessment
Tibet
Trace Elements* / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Trace Elements
Cadmium
Lead
Metals, Heavy
Water Pollutants, Chemical