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Assessment of sediment quality in the Mediterranean Sea–Boughrara lagoon exchange areas (southeastern Tunisia): GIS approach-based chemometric methods

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Abstract

Concentrations of selected heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe) in surface sediments from 66 sites in both northern and eastern Mediterranean Sea–Boughrara lagoon exchange areas (southeastern Tunisia) were studied in order to understand current metal contamination due to the urbanization and economic development of nearby several coastal regions of the Gulf of Gabès. Multiple approaches were applied for the sediment quality assessment. These approaches were based on GIS coupled with chemometric methods (enrichment factors, geoaccumulation index, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis). Enrichment factors and principal component analysis revealed two distinct groups of metals. The first group corresponded to Fe and Mn derived from natural sources, and the second group contained Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu originated from man-made sources. For these latter metals, cluster analysis showed two distinct distributions in the selected areas. They were attributed to temporal and spatial variations of contaminant sources input. The geoaccumulation index (I geo) values explained that only Cd, Pb, and Cu can be considered as moderate to extreme pollutants in the studied sediments.

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Acknowledgment

The authors wish to express their thanks to Fathi BOURMECH from the Faculty of Arts at Sfax for carefully editing and proofreading the English of the present study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Gabès, Institut Supérieur des Sciences et Techniques des Eaux de Gabès, Campus Universitaire, Cité Erriadh, 6072 Zrig, Gabès, Tunisia

    Adel Kharroubi

  2. Université de Sfax, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Département des Sciences de la Terre, Route Soukra, km 3,5, PB 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    Dorra Gargouri & Chafai Azri

  3. Université de Sfax, Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Sfax—LARSEN, UR Etude et Gestion des Environnements Côtiers et Urbains, BP 1173-3038, Sfax, Tunisia

    Houda Baati

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  1. Adel Kharroubi
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  2. Dorra Gargouri
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  4. Chafai Azri
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Correspondence to Chafai Azri.

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Kharroubi, A., Gargouri, D., Baati, H. et al. Assessment of sediment quality in the Mediterranean Sea–Boughrara lagoon exchange areas (southeastern Tunisia): GIS approach-based chemometric methods. Environ Monit Assess 184, 4001–4014 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2239-8

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