IMPACT OF ACIDIFICATION ON HEAVY METAL POLLUTION IN HOOGHLY ESTUARY
Abstract
Author(s): Tanmay Ray Chaudhuri, Pardis Fazli, Sufia Zaman, Prosenjit Pramanick, Rahul Bose and Abhijit Mitra
The surface water pH, dissolved heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb) and biologically available heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb) in the surface sediment were monitored for 30 years in the Hooghly estuary located in the western sector of Indian Sundarbans. The gradual decrease of surface water pH played a significant role in the process of compartmentation of heavy metals in the estuarine system. It is observed that lowering of pH triggered the process of transference of heavy metals from the sediment to the overlying aqueous system. The correlation coefficient values and scatter plots support our findings. Such phenomenon is of considerable importance while developing the management action plan to control heavy metal pollution in the estuarine system. Keywords: Acidification, Surface water pH, dissolved heavy metals, biologically available heavy metals in the sediment.
