Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African Estuaries
Richards Bay Harbour is South Africa's largest and busiest deep-water port by tonnage, and this ongoing shipping and port activities will expectedly result in metal contamination issues. The adjacent Mhlathuze Estuary is a nature reserve with a long history with Richards Bay Harbour and may be...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Scientific African |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227624002886 |
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| author | Joshua Idowu Izegaegbe Leon Vivier Hendrick Mduduzi Mzimela |
| author_facet | Joshua Idowu Izegaegbe Leon Vivier Hendrick Mduduzi Mzimela |
| author_sort | Joshua Idowu Izegaegbe |
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| description | Richards Bay Harbour is South Africa's largest and busiest deep-water port by tonnage, and this ongoing shipping and port activities will expectedly result in metal contamination issues. The adjacent Mhlathuze Estuary is a nature reserve with a long history with Richards Bay Harbour and may be prone to metal contamination from multiple sources. The study investigates the sources of contaminated sediments in these two South African estuaries arising from their proximity to various anthropogenic activities. Investigating these sources of contamination is crucial for developing effective pollution control strategy since Richards Bay Harbour and Mhlathuze Estuary are regarded as estuaries of national conservation importance in South Africa. To provide further insights, sediment samples were acid digested and quantified for metal concentrations using Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Multivariate (SIMPROF and cluster) analysis was used to identify how sampling sites in Richards Bay Harbour and Mhlathuze Estuary were grouped based on sediment metal concentrations. Results of pollution load index for Richards Bay Harbour showed site 4 to be heavily polluted, while site 3 in Mhlathuze Estuary showed moderate pollution. Multivariate analysis (SIMPROF and cluster) further revealed sites related to anthropogenic activities and those that were unpolluted. Engaging this advanced analysis enhanced the ability to delineate potential pollution sources and further helped in the identification of the main contributors to sediment pollution. The findings indicate that port and industrial activities are the major contributors to sediment contamination at the estuaries. The results provide specific insights into the sources of pollution, informing targeted environmental management and policy-making efforts to protect and improve the estuarine environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f5e45b3b69694bc1896cc9c4b2890f4c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2468-2276 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific African |
| spelling | doaj-art-f5e45b3b69694bc1896cc9c4b2890f4c2024-12-21T04:28:53ZengElsevierScientific African2468-22762024-12-0126e02346Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African EstuariesJoshua Idowu Izegaegbe0Leon Vivier1Hendrick Mduduzi Mzimela2Department of Zoology, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South Africa; Department of Zoology, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria; Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; Corresponding author.Department of Zoology, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South AfricaDepartment of Zoology, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South AfricaRichards Bay Harbour is South Africa's largest and busiest deep-water port by tonnage, and this ongoing shipping and port activities will expectedly result in metal contamination issues. The adjacent Mhlathuze Estuary is a nature reserve with a long history with Richards Bay Harbour and may be prone to metal contamination from multiple sources. The study investigates the sources of contaminated sediments in these two South African estuaries arising from their proximity to various anthropogenic activities. Investigating these sources of contamination is crucial for developing effective pollution control strategy since Richards Bay Harbour and Mhlathuze Estuary are regarded as estuaries of national conservation importance in South Africa. To provide further insights, sediment samples were acid digested and quantified for metal concentrations using Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Multivariate (SIMPROF and cluster) analysis was used to identify how sampling sites in Richards Bay Harbour and Mhlathuze Estuary were grouped based on sediment metal concentrations. Results of pollution load index for Richards Bay Harbour showed site 4 to be heavily polluted, while site 3 in Mhlathuze Estuary showed moderate pollution. Multivariate analysis (SIMPROF and cluster) further revealed sites related to anthropogenic activities and those that were unpolluted. Engaging this advanced analysis enhanced the ability to delineate potential pollution sources and further helped in the identification of the main contributors to sediment pollution. The findings indicate that port and industrial activities are the major contributors to sediment contamination at the estuaries. The results provide specific insights into the sources of pollution, informing targeted environmental management and policy-making efforts to protect and improve the estuarine environments.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227624002886Trace metalsContamination factorBulk terminalPollution load indexMultivariate analysisRichards Bay Harbour |
| spellingShingle | Joshua Idowu Izegaegbe Leon Vivier Hendrick Mduduzi Mzimela Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African Estuaries Scientific African Trace metals Contamination factor Bulk terminal Pollution load index Multivariate analysis Richards Bay Harbour |
| title | Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African Estuaries |
| title_full | Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African Estuaries |
| title_fullStr | Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African Estuaries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African Estuaries |
| title_short | Uncovering sediment pollution sources: A comparative assessment of two South African Estuaries |
| title_sort | uncovering sediment pollution sources a comparative assessment of two south african estuaries |
| topic | Trace metals Contamination factor Bulk terminal Pollution load index Multivariate analysis Richards Bay Harbour |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227624002886 |
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