Speciation of trace metals in coastal sediments of El-Mex Bay south Mediterranean Sea-West of Alexandria (Egypt)

Sediments of El-Mex Bay estuary on the southern Mediterranean Sea have been analyzed for trace metals after sediment fractionation by sequential leaching. A sequential extraction procedure was applied to identify forms of Mn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Zn and Fe. The five steps of the sequential extraction procedure partitioned metals into: CH3COONH4 extractable (F1); NaOAC carbonate extractable (F2); NH2OH.HCl/CH3COOH reducible extractable (F3); H2O2-HNO3 organic extractable (F4) and NHO3/HClO4/HF acid soluble residue (F5). Extracted concentrations of trace metals analyzed after all five steps, were found to be (mu g/g) for Mn: 1930.2, Cu: 165.3, Cd: 60.9, Cr: 386.3, Zn: 2351.3 and Fe: 10895. Most of elements were found in reducible fraction except Fe found in acid soluble residue, characterizing stable compounds in sediments. Labile (non-residual) fractions of trace elements (sum of the first four fractions) were analyzed because they are more bioavailable than the residual amount. Correlation analysis was used to understand and visualize the associations between the labile fractions of trace metals and certain forms, since Fe-and Mn-oxides play an important role in trace metals sorption within aquatic systems, especially within El-Mex Bay sediments that characterized by varying metal bioavailability.