Distribution of heavy metal concentrations in surface sediments in Dubai creeks, United Arab Emirates

Dubai is developing rapidly and many developmental activities are concentrated around its Creek. The present study reports the lateral distribution of heavy metals and compares it with local historical record of heavy metal concentrations. For this purpose surface sediment samples were collected and analyzed for metal contents, total organic carbon content (TOC), mineralogy and grain size. The percentages of the different grain size fraction of the collected sediments were as follow 65% for sand size, 15% for silt size fraction, and the rest accounted for clay size fraction. The microscopic analyses indicate that the sediment composed mainly from carbonate and quartz with traces of rock fragments. Such mineral composition is not believed to be a potential source of heavy metal. The study found that the average recorded heavy metal concentrations in the collected sediment samples were 87, 96, 127, 38.5, and 279 ppm for Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, respectively. Those values were slightly higher than metal concentrations recoded in 2001 with 1.22 (Cr), 2.5 (Cu), 2.87 (Ni), 0.69 (Pb), and 2.1 (Zn) folds. However, in 2001 and 2003 the measured metal contents, along the creek, were lower than those of the average earth crust. Along the Creek most metals recorded the highest concentrations in the upper reach of the Creek. The distribution of the measured heavy metals was not affected significantly with the TOC values. The present study also documented obvious related point sources of pollution.