THE PARTICULATE TRACE METAL (CU, ZN, CR, FE, MN, NI, PB AND HG ) LOAD CARRIED BY GEDIZ RIVER INTO THE OUTER IZMIR BAY; THE AEGEAN SEA

In the surface water in the mouth of the Gediz river, the concentrations of particulate Cu, Zn, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Hg measured for determining their loads to the outer section of the Izmir Bay. Excluding Mn and Hg, the temporal variations of the particle trace metals showed significant correlations with the river flow. With their independence from the flow, the transport patterns of Mn and Hg indicated that the Gediz River was a non-point source for these metals. There were also significant correlations between the suspended particulate matter (SPM) and the particulate metal concentrations except for Hg. The highest flow since 1999, had been recorded on February 18, 2005 exactly which one of the sampling surveys was carried out.