Acid Volatile Sulfide (AVS) and Simultaneously Extracted Metals (SEM) in Surface Sediments of Chaohu Lake, Anhui Province, China

At present there are few studies on the AVS and SEM in sediments of Chaohu Lake. Most of the previous studies on heavy metals based on the one time, the short-time or a local-scale survey. In this paper, [AVS] and [SEM] in Chaohu Lake surface sediments were studied for different seasons in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The results showed that: (a) The three-year average of [AV and [ΣSE in surface sediments of Chaohu Lake is 4.2μmolg-1 and 2.31μmolg-1, respectively. The maximum of [AV appears on spot 5 (14.845μmolg-1) in summer while the minimum appears on spot 9 (0.13μmolg-1) in winter. (b) In spot 5 which near the estuary of Yuxi River, three-year average of [SE was the maximum (5.81μmolg-1), and the minimum of [ΣSE (0.07μmolg-1) appears on spot 8 which locates in the middle of Chaohu Lake. In spot 13 the [ΣSEM]-[AVS]=3.2>2 and [ΣSEM]/[AVS]=4.45>2.34 indicate that heavy metal contaminants from Hefei city have threatened the biosafety of Chaohu Lake. (c) The spatial autocorrelation of SEMCd is weak, which indicates that spatial distribution of SEMCd is determined by anthropogenic factors rather than sediments' own attribute. Chaohu Lake has been heavily polluted by Cd from no-point source and electronic electroplating industry.