| 55 surface sediments taken from the Pearl River Estuary were tested and analyzed for heavy metal elements in this paper, and the results showed that the contents of each heavy metal showed an overall decreasing trend from north to south, with the highest Zn 135.61 μg/g was the highest, followed by Cr 75.05 μg/g, Cu 43.23 μg/g, Pb 42.67 μg/g, As 22.01 μg/g, Cd 0.52 μg/g, and Hg 0.18 μg/g were the lowest. Combined with the total organic carbon data, linear fitting analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between TOC and heavy metal content, indicating that the TOC content in sediments has a certain effect on the distribution of heavy metals, and the significant positive correlation between heavy metal elements indicates that their sources and migration pathways are somewhat similar. Based on the marine sediment quality standard and the geologic cumulative index method, the paper calculated that the content of heavy metal elements Cr, Zn, Hg, Cu, As and Cd in the sediments in the study area meets the second category standard specified in the marine sediment quality, and the content of Pb meets the first category standard of the marine sediment quality, and the heavy metal elements are basically in the state of non-pollution to medium-pollution, which indicates that the contamination level of the heavy metal elements in the surface sediments in the study area is low. The paper discussed the content and distribution characteristics of heavy metal elements in surface sediments in the Pearl River Estuary, and evaluated the degree of contamination, which enriches the research on heavy metal contamination in the Pearl River Estuary. |
