Metal Fractionation in Surface Sediments of the Brahmaputra River and Implications for Their Mobilization

Tenzin Tsering, Mika Sillanpää, Satu-Pia Reinikainen and Mahmoud S. M. Abdel Wahed
Additional contact information
Tenzin Tsering: LUT School of Engineering Sciences, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland
Mika Sillanpää: Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Satu-Pia Reinikainen: LUT School of Engineering Sciences, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland
Mahmoud S. M. Abdel Wahed: Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62521, Egypt

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-16

Abstract: The Brahmaputra River is the largest tropical river in India that flows along the Himalayan regions and it is the lifeline of millions of people. Metal fractionation in the Brahmaputra River’s surface sediments and its correlation with turbidity are assessed in this study. The interaction between metal fractions and the overlying water is studied using multivariate statistical analyses. The strong positive correlation between NH 4 of the overlying water and the exchangeable fractions in sediments signifies that the metals in the exchangeable fractions can be substituted by NH 4. Subsequently, these metals can be released into the overlying water. The fluctuation in turbidity from 73 to 875 NTU indicates a large variation in the suspended matter concentration, and a higher concentration of suspended matter could provide attachment sites for pollutants such as metals. Significant variation in turbidity manifests a potentially high risk of pollution. In addition, the observation of local people along the Brahmaputra River turning its color to muddy indicates the need for continuous monitoring of water quality and an assessment of pollution is crucial. Although the Brahmaputra River’s risk assessment code is at low risk, the exchangeable fractions of Ni and Zn are present at all sites. Thus, the Brahmaputra River requires early preventive measures and management strategies to control metal pollution. This study contributes to an understanding of the fluctuation of turbidity of a tropical river. We provide baseline data for policymakers, and the importance of further intensive studies on metal pollution in the Himalayan Rivers is highlighted.

Keywords: Brahmaputra River; heavy metal; sequential extraction; sediments; turbidity; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9214/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/24/9214/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:24:p:9214-:d:459408

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().