ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1627805
This article is part of the Research TopicFate and Effects of Sediment and Emerging Pollutants in Marine and Estuarine EnvironmentsView all 6 articles
Characterization and source analysis of trace metal pollution in coastal shallow-marine sediments, Wanning area, Hainan Island, China
Provisionally accepted
Suimiao Wang1,2Xianqing Wang1,2Zhaofan Wang1,2
Guangfei Guo1,2*Liang Chen1,2*Zanhui Huang1,2Dinghui Fu1,2Pingru Li1,2Xiuyu Yun1,2- 1Haikou Marine Geological Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Haikou, China
- 2Haikou Key Laboratory of Marine Contaminants Monitoring Innovation and Application, Haikou, China
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In this study, the trace metal contents of 57 sediments in the coastal shallow sea of Wanning area, Hainan Island were analyzed, and an assessment of pollution levels and source attribution was conducted using the Nemero multifactor pollution index and the Positive Matrix Decomposition (PMF) model. The results showed that the average contents of As, Hg, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Cr in the surface sediments of the study area were 11. 40, 0.037, 11.36, 51.69, 0.10, 24.53, and 45.86 mg/kg, respectively, which were in accordance with the Class I standard of the Chinese marine sediment standards, reflecting the overall low level of pollution in the study area. However, localized hotspots of As, Cu, Cr, and Pb pollution were observed, warranting further attention. The sources of trace metal pollution are likely linked to human activities around Wanning City, including aquaculture-related fish medicine (Factor1), urban wastewater and farm feed (Factor2), agricultural pesticide use (Factor3), and maritime transportation (Factor4). These sources contributed 17.9%, 30.5%, 17.3%, and 34.3% to the total pollution load, respectively, indicating that the main sources of pollution in the coastal shallow-marine area of the Wanning region are transportation vessels, residues from farm feed and municipal sewage, mercury-containing fish medicine, and the use of pesticides.
Keywords: Coastal Shallow-Marine Sediments, Trace metal pollution, Source analysis, Nemero Multifactor Pollution Index, Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) Model 1
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wang, Wang, Guo, Chen, Huang, Fu, Li and Yun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Guangfei Guo, Haikou Marine Geological Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Haikou, China
Liang Chen, Haikou Marine Geological Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Haikou, China
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