Spatio-temporal trends in heavy metal pollution of surface sediments of the Bahía Blanca estuary

DANIELA M. TRUCHET; NATALIA S. BUZZI; VANESA L. NEGRÍN; CARLA V. SPETTER; SANDRA E. BOTTÉ; JORGE E. MARCOVECCHIO

Virtual

Jornada; III Jornadas Internacionles y V Jornadas Nacionales de Ambiente; 2021

In this work, the objective was to evaluate the dynamics of metals in sediments of the Bahía Blanca estuary during 2013-2018. To assess this goal, samples of surface sediments were taken from sampling points of the estuary with different anthropic impacts, along with physicochemical parameters of the water. The samples were processed under standardized protocols and the data were analyzed under descriptive and multivariate statistics. Regarding metals, the results did not show differences between the sampling points, but between the years with an increasing concentration in the last years, especially in the sampling site with sewage waters without treatment. The parameters also showed the same dynamics, with a decrease in pH and OD in the last period. The multivariate analyzes showed that metals explained the seasons of recent years. These results highlight the importance of continuing with comprehensive monitoring of these pollutants in time.