Desiccation versus Re-Flooding: Heavy Metals Mobilization—Part 1

Abstract

From the restoration point of view, heavy metals distribution and seasonal variation were studied in the re-flooded marshes of the Mesopotamia, southern Iraq. As part of the ecological recovery assessment of these newly inundated marshes, it is important to investigate the extend impact of 13 years of desiccation after five years of inundation on the heavy metals mobilization from the marshland downstream into the Shatt Al-Arab River and examine whether these marshlands retain their role of acting as sink of metals. The result shows significant differences between the re-flooded marshes versus the reference marsh, which indicates that desiccation cased changes in environmental variables and divided the one homogeneous system of the Mesopotamia into separated systems. In addition, the special distribution of heavy metals show that Al-Hawizeh and Al-Hammar marshlands were efficient for metals reduction, especially for Ni, while the Central marshland has the major contribution as source to metals. As a conclusion, the recovery potential of three marshlands is strongly controlled by the hydrological status of the marshland and the degree of the desiccation impact. The environmental status of the semidried marshes, Al-Souda north and Um Al-Niaaj, as well as the completely Abu Zarag dried marsh are exhibiting a positive recovery degree than the other monitored marshes in the Mesopotamia in comparison to the reference marsh.

Share and Cite:

S. Al-Maarofi, A. Alhello, N. Fawzi, A. Douabul and H. Al-Saad, "Desiccation versus Re-Flooding: Heavy Metals Mobilization—Part 1," Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 4 No. 8B, 2013, pp. 27-36. doi: 10.4236/jep.2013.48A2004.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] C. J. Richardson, P. Reiss, N. A. Husain, A. J. Alwash and D. J Pool, “The Restoration Potential of the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq,” Science, Vol. 307, No. 5713, 2005, pp. 1307-1310. doi:10.1126/science.1105750
[2] C. J. Richardson and N. A. Husain, “Restoring the Garden of Eden: An Ecological Assessment of the Marshes of Iraq,” BioScience, Vol. 56, No. 6, 2005, pp. 477-488. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2006)56[477:RTGOEA]2.0.CO;2
[3] S. S. AlMaarofi, A. Douabul and H. Al-Saad, “Mesopotamian Marshlands: Salinization Problem,” Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012, pp. 1295-1301. doi:10.4236/jep.2012.310147
[4] A. Douabul, N. Al-Mudhafer, A. Alhello, H. Al-Saad and S. S. Al-Maarofi, “Restoration versus Re-Flooding: Mesopotamia Marshlands,” Hydrology Current Research, Vol. 3, No. 5, 2012, p. 140.
[5] J. Rzoska, “Euphrates and Tigris, the Mesopotamian Ecology and Destiny,” W. Junk, The Hague, Boston, Hingham, 1980. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-9171-2
[6] S. Kubba, “The Iraqi Marshlands and the Marsh Arabs: The Ma’dan, Their Culture and the Environment,” 1st Edition, Garnet Publishing, Berkshire, 2011.
[7] H. Partow, “The Mesopotamian Marshlands: Demise of an Ecosystem-Division of Early Warning and Assessment,” United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, 2001.
[8] W. J. Mitsch and G. J. Gosselink, “Wetlands,” 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2007.
[9] N. A. Husain, “Ahwar of Iraq: Environmental Approach,” The Marine Science Center Publisher, Basra, 1994.
[10] R. Alagarsamy and J. Zhang, “Geochemical Characterization of Major and Trace Elements in the Coastal Sediments of India. Environ,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 161, No. 1-4, 2010, pp. 161-176. doi:10.1007/s10661-008-0735-2
[11] C. S. Mueller, G. J. Ramelow and J. N. Beck, “Spatial and Temporal Variation of Heavy Metals in Sediment Cores from the Calcasien River/Lake Complex,” Water Air Soil Pollution, Vol. 43, No. 3-4, 1989, pp. 213-230.
[12] N. Belzile, C. Yu-Wei, J. Gunn and S. Dixit, “Sediment Trace Metal Profiles in Lakes of Killarney Park, Canada: from Regional to Continental Influence,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 130, No. 2, 2004, pp. 239-248. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2003.12.003
[13] D. M. Ongeri, J. O. Lalah, S. O. Wandiga, K. W. Schramm and B. Michalke, “Levels of Toxic Metals in Multisectoral Samples from Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria,” Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 82, No. 1, 2009, pp. 64-69. doi:10.1007/s00128-008-9530-6
[14] A. Kabat-Pendias and H. Pendias, “Trace Elements in Soil and Plants,” CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2001.
[15] M. Canli and G. Atli, “The Relationship between Heavy Metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn) Levels and the Size of Six Mediterranean Fish Species,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 121, No. 1, 2003, pp. 129-136. doi:10.1016/S0269-7491(02)00194-X
[16] H. T. Odum, “Heavy Metals in the Environment: Using Wetlands for Their Removal,” 1st Edition, Lewis Publishers, CRC Press LLC., 2000.
[17] N. E. Akbulut and A. M. Tuncer, “Accumulation of Heavy Metals with Water Quality Parameters in Kizilirmak River Basin (Delice River) in Turkey,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 173, No. 1-4, 2011, pp. 387-395. doi:10.1007/s10661-010-1394-7
[18] APHA, “Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater,” 21st Edition, American Public Health Association, 2005.
[19] J. Riley and D. Taylor, “Chelating Resins for the Concentration of Trace Elements from the Sea Water and Their Analytical Use in Conjunction with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry,” Analytica Chimica Acta, Vol. 40, 1968, pp. 479-489. doi:10.1016/S0003-2670(00)86764-1
[20] R. Chester and F. Voutsinou, “The Initial Assessment of Trace Metal Pollution in Costal Sediments,” Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1981, pp. 84-91. doi:10.1016/0025-326X(81)90198-3
[21] R. L. Folk, “The Natural History of Crystalline Calcium Carbonate: Effect of Magnesium Content and Salinity,” Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, Vol. 44, No. 1, 1974, pp. 40-53.
[22] S. El-Wakeel and J. Riley, “The Determination of Organic Carbon in Marine Mud,” Journal du Conseil International pour l’Exploration de la Mer, Vol. 22, No. 2, 1957, pp. 180-183.
[23] L. Birch, K. Hanselmann and R. Bachofen, “Heavy Metal Conservation in Lake Cadagno Sediments: Historical Records of Anthropogenic Emissions in a Meromictic Alpine Lake,” Water Research, Vol. 30, No. 3, 1996, pp. 679-687. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(95)00231-6
[24] P. S. Harikumar and T. S. Jisha, “Distribution Pattern of Trace Metal Pollutants in the Sediments of an Urban Wetland in the Southwest Coast of India,” International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, Vol. 2, No. 5, 2010, pp. 840-850.
[25] M. A. S. Coetzee, “Water Pollution in South Africa: Its Impact on Wetland Biota,” In: G. I. Cowan, Ed., Wetlands of South Africa, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria, 1995, pp. 187-290.
[26] M. Masson, G. Blanc and J. Schafer, “Geochemical Signals and Source Contributions to Heavy Metal (Cd, Zn, Pb, Cu) Fluxes into the Gironde Estuary,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 370, No. 1, 2006, pp. 133-146. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.06.011
[27] M. J. Al-Haidarey, F. Hassan, A. Al-Kubaisey and A. Douabul, “The Geo-Accumulation Index of Some Heavy Metals in Al-Hawizeh Marsh, Iraq,” E-Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 7, No. S1, 2010, pp. 157-162.
[28] D. Zaharescu, P. Hooda, A. Soler, J. Fernandez and C. Burghelea, “Trace Metals and Their Source in the Catchment of the High Altitude Lake Respomuso, Central Pyrenees,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 407, No. 11, 2009, pp. 3546-3553. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.02.026
[29] O. Perceval, Y. Couillard, B. Pinel-Alloul, E. Bonneris and P. Campbell, “Long-Term Trends in Accumulated Metals (Cd, Cu and Zn) and Metallothionein in Bivalves from Lakes within a Smelter-Impacted Region,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 369, No. 1-3, 2006, pp. 403-418. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.04.019

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.