Chemometric data analysis of gross radioactivity and heavy metal concentrations in soil and sediments of Bendimahi River, Turkey

This study deals with radioactivity and heavy metal distribution and statistical analyses in the Bendimahi River Basin, which is within the Lake Van Closed Basin, Turkey. In order to identify the relationships between measured variables and to categorize soils and sediments collected at 15 sites on Bendimahi River, factor and cluster analysis have been applied. The data set is constituted of 9 radiological and physico–chemical variables, including gross alpha and gross beta activities and Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Co and Mn concentrations. Factor and cluster analysis were used to describe the relationship and similarity among data sets (variables) for the Bendimahi River. The convergence diagnostics such as trace plot and kernel density were applied to determine the convergence criteria to the data sets.