Spatial Distribution of Selected Heavy Metals in Marine Surface Sediments of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar, Arabian Gulf

Order Description

this is my proposel I want to write reseach papaer about my project

in paper first : talke about the subject in general untill reach to the specifict point I want (what i want to talk in my proposel ) and prove it
second : why did i choose this study
thired : what it is importance in our society
fourth: statistics
fifth: related previous studies to my research??
finally :index citation

Tittle of the proposed research project:
Spatial Distribution of Selected Heavy Metals in Marine Surface Sediments of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar, Arabian Gulf.
? Project Description/Justification
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a sea zone specified by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights related to use of marine resources and the exploration. The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Qatari Peninsula that lies in the Central Arabian Gulf receives extremely limited sediment input from the anthropogenic discharge waters, and almost no sediment inputs from the streams flowing into the sea. There are few industrial and ground water discharges at the east of Qatar Peninsula along the coasts. On the other hand, huge amount of particulate load comes to surface water in the form of atmospheric dust out fall; which is deposited in coastal sediments or transported to deeper water in time. Heavy metals in marine sediments originate primarily from natural sources (riverine discharge, dust, organisms etc.) and anthropogenic sources (coastal settlements, dredging, reclaiming, sewage discharges); and are subject to both coastal and marine control. When heavy metals enter the marine environment, the distribution is influenced by various physicochemical factors (e.g., sedimentary processes, mineralogical composition, hydrodynamic transport, redox conditions, and biological uptake). Significant amounts of pollutants are received by marine ecosystem every year via several pathways such as heavy industry processes, agriculture, aquaculture, untreated domestic wastes, atmospheric emissions, shipping activities, and dust outfall. Heavy metals are considered as contaminants when human activity raises their concentrations in the environment exceeding natural levels. On the other hand, they are considered as important tracers for chemical and biological processes in the sedimentary records.
In this research project, the composition and spatial distribution of near- and off-shore marine sediments will be focused in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar. The Qatar University research vessel R/V Janan and a speed boat will be used for collecting surface sediments. Marine sediment sampling will be conducted from the Doha bay and from the selected off-shore stations along the two linear sectors at the south and north of Qatar Peninsula. This study will be a useful step for evaluating the environmental health of the coastal sediments around Qatar. We expect to see the evidence of anthropogenic pollution (industrial and domestic) where it accumulates and exists. The aim of this research is to determine the distribution pattern and pollution status of heavy metals in tropical shelf sediments since limited information is available for the pollution status of some of the remote regions. Especially, studies dealing with heavy metals in the EEZ of the Northeast and Southeast borders of Qatari EEZ are highly limited due sampling difficulties (distance, rough weather, and excess heat). This study, also aims to show impact of pollution factor: domestic and industrial surface discharges in to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar. We hypotheses that industrial processes result in contamination of seawater and sediments can be traced using enrichments in vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), aluminum (Al). (Table 1).

Table 1: The elements selected for this study include the following tracers.

Element Isotope Behavior & Importance

Aluminum 27 Al distributions in most coastal ocean environments are dominated by lithogenic material. It is used as a tracer for terrestrial input of detrital aluminosilicate material It has also been shown to be influenced by biological cycling and scavenging.

Vanadium 51 V is conservative in aerobic seawater. It is depleted in the surface water (biological uptake) and regenerated at depth (decomposition). V is scavenged by Mn and especially Fe-oxyhydroxides by being adsorbed strongly onto particle surfaces.

Nickel 58 Ni reflects nutrient like behavior. Its distributions are correlated with NO3?,PO43?, Si(OH)4. It may be a master trace element proxy for the settling flux of organic matter out of the euphotic zone. It does adsorb on metal oxides and other surfaces
Copper 63/64 Cu has a strong biological affinity. It shows nutrient-like properties in oxic seawater, but is also influenced by scavenging processes. It is a well-known tracer for planktonic material and analogues for organic carbon export production.

Cadmium 112/114 Cd has a short residence time and shows nutrient like distribution. There is a good correlation between Cd and nutrient salts (NO3?, NO2?, PO43?, Si(OH)4. Its strong correlation with PO43? has been used to reconstruct paleo nutrient distributions.

Lead 207/208 Pb is thought to adsorb strongly on particle surfaces. It is a good tracer of pollution which has anthropogenic origin. 210Pb is a radiotracer in the U-Th series and used to trace particle cycling in the oceans.

In this study, we are planning to measure the 4 parameters:
1) Elemental composition of heavy metal pollutants is important to know the current state of pollutant ion. Heavy metal pollutants will be determined by measuring concentrations of selected elements at the surface sediments.
2) Grain size distribution of sediments is one of the most important characteristics of sediment. It is used to study trends in surface processes related to the dynamic conditions of transportation and deposition; as well as the affinities of fine-grained particles and contaminants. Cations derived from mineral weathering and pollution sources are preferentially adsorbed onto clay, which has the highest surface area to volume ratio of any particle size class.
3) Hydrographic data on sampling stations will be collected for some of physical and chemical parameters (temperature (T), salinity (S), density (D), dissolved oxygen (DO), and Chlorophyl (Chl-a)).
4) Total Organic Material (TOM) of sediment is a necessary step for the detection of total organic and inorganic material content of the CaCO3 rich (calcareous) sediments.
Then, we are planning to process the metal data under 4 categories:
a) Heavy metal concentrations: The elemental concentrations, which will be average of replicate analysis for each sample, will be given for total of selected 5 elements either as ppm or ppb units.
b) Enrichment Factor (EF): This factor is used to normalize the measured metal concentration with respect to a reference metal and is frequently used as an indicator for pollution.
c) Index of Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo): This index is generally used to compare the status of heavy metal concentration with the background values. Igeo can describe the relationship between the measured element in the sediment fraction and the geochemical value in fossil argillaceous sediment or average shales
d) Pollution Load Index (PLI): This index is widely used as a simple and comparative way to evaluate the degree of heavy metal pollution in marine sediment. This index is derived from the contamination factor (CF) that was proposed by G. Muller. The background values of metals in this study are the average values of continental shale. The CF ratio was estimated by dividing the concentration of each metal in the soil by the baseline/background value.
Sample collection and preservation:
The composition of heavy metals in marine sediments are controlled by many important factors in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar. Surface sediments from 12 sampling stations will be collected during the cruises in October 2016 on board R/V Janan, using Van Veen type grab samplers. The sediments will be collected from 3-4 locations at near-shore (shallow) station in Doha Bay; and from the surface at off-shore (deep) stations along two linear transect within the EEZ of Qatar (Figure 1), located in the Central Arabian Gulf. Exact sampling locations should be the nearest depression area (deepest water) around selected locations (Table 2). The samples of hydrographic and selected chemical parameters will also be collected with the participation of QU-ESC Physical Oceanography Group.
Sediments of the upper 2 cm will be sampled with a plastic spoon and stored in acid cleaned glass jar with Teflon lids; and will be double bagged using vinyl Zip-Lock bags to prevent possible contamination. The sediment samples will be oven-dried at 105?C and passed through a 2mm sieve, before mixing and homogenization. From the bulk sediment, a representative subsample will be powdered and re-homogenized in an agate mortar with a pestle for further chemical analysis.

Figure 1. The R/V Janan sampling stations for the student project (source: Mr. Mehmet Demirel).

Table 2. The coordinates of each sampling station.

Station Total Depth [m] Latitude Longitude
FStP02 17.8    25 4.309 N 52 12.514 E
FStP01 9.0    25 12.006 N 52 4.982 E
FStP03 14.1    25 16.434 N 51 53.429 E
N1 R1 18.7    26 19.187 N 51 21.510 E
N1 R2 18.7    26 19.120 N 51 21.521 E
N1 R3 18.7    26 19.004 N 51 21.526 E
N2 23.6    26 30.264 N 51 14.120 E
N3 31.6    26 44.652 N 51 13.682 E
N4 73.1    27 0.288 N 51 13.988 E

Ship Time:
A ship time is required for sediment sampling in October 2016 for 2 to 3 days. During this cruise/s, samples will be collected from total of 8 stations on the two linear transects. A subset of samples will also be collected from 3-4 near shore stations inside the Doha Bay from the locations where high level of pollution was expected (coastal discharge to the beginning of Doha Channel).
Goals:
In this project, the distribution of selected heavy metals, their pollution status and possible sources will be investigated, using environmental assessment indexes: pollution load index (PLI), enrichment factor (EF), and index of geoaccumulation (Igeo). This study will be useful in environmental management by enlightening policy makers about the heavy metal issues in this crucial region. This will be a necessary primary step for evaluating the environmental health of the coastal sediments around Qatar.

We expect to see:
a) the evidence of anthropogenic pollution where it accumulates and exists.
b) the possible impact of currents on the composition of surface sediments at sites where that exists.
c) the complicated geochemical distributions reflecting the different inputs from atmospheric dust and/or inputs from discharges.
d) general health status of the Doha Bay and Central Arabian Gulf.

Methodology:
The starting point will consist of research cruise(s) to collect duplicate surface sediment samples using Qatar University research vessel (R/V) Janan for oceanographic sampling at limited number of stations. The analytical approach developed for this work will utilize high temperature strong acid digestion of samples. Digested particulate samples will be analyzed for min. of 5 elements using Inductively Coupled Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Trace metal clean techniques will be carefully applied carefully for all steps in the sampling and digestion process (e.g., EPA 1669, EPA1638, EPA1640, Cullen et al., 2001). Precision will be estimated by replicate analyses of actual samples and standard reference materials. Accuracy will be determined by analyzing MESS-1,3 and/or PACS-1,2 certified sediment reference materials. Data analysis and interpretation will begin as soon as we have data. The first step is to review the results for quality control (precision and accuracy). The sediment samples will be interpreted as mass solid concentration (e.g. moles/gm solid) and as index/factor ratios.

Sediment Digestion Procedure
• Measure 0.25 g of sediment samples and put it in white Teflon bomb tubes.
• Make 3 blanks, 4 CRMs (reference sample, marine sediments) and measure 0.25 g and put it in Teflon bomb. Also make 3 lab replicates and 3 spikes from the sample.
• Add 9 ml HNO3 (Trace metal grade) to all Teflon tubes:
o 24 samples (sediments)
o 3 blanks
o 4 CRMs
o 3 Lab replicates
o 3 Spikes
• Add 500 ppb of the spike in the 3 spikes Teflon tubes.
• Add 3 ml of HF in the 4 CRM Teflon tubes and place all of them in hot block over 95.50 C for 30 minutes for good digestion.
• After 30 min, make the temperature to 1350 C and wait for one hour.
• Add 1 to 5 mL of TM grade H2O2 for oxidizing organics until you get clear solutions
• Complete sample digest volume to 100 mL in certified vials using double distilled, deionized water.
• Keep at cold and dark until analysis.

? List material and resources that you will need.
Chemicals: HCl, HNO3, HF, H2O

? The experience of this topic
I am fully aware with the concept to show impact of pollution factor: domestic and industrial surface discharges in to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar and how does it affect the marine environment. Given that I studied Introduction to marine(B52) and marine biology(L51) courses in which we learned about how the pollution can effect on marine life. I’m aware with the procedures of measure the parameters like: salinity, temperature, density …etc., Also the lab safety from other courses taken during my major. Moreover, my internship was at the ADLQ lab, we did an experiment related to measure the heavy metals in drinking water in different place in Qatar.
? How do you plan to disseminate your findings?
Over posters and presentations done during the spring semester, furthermore, a detailed thesis will be presented at the end of the academic year. I would also participate in the annual symposium of the department to present my results. Conferences would provide me with the same opportunity and lastly, and most importantly, will try to publish an article in a scientific journal.
? References

Cullen et al., 2001 Cullen, J. T., M. P. Field, and R. M. Sherrell. 2001. Determination of trace elements in filtered suspended marine part e material iculat by sector field HR-ICP-MS. J. Anal. Atmos. Spectrom.16:1307–1312.

EPA 1669, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1996). Method 1669: Sampling Ambient Water for Trace Metals at EPA Water Quality Criteria Levels

EPA1638, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1996). Method 1638 Determination of Trace Elements in Ambient Waters by Inductively Coupled Plasma — Mass Spectrometry January 1996

EPA1640, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1997). METHOD 1640DETERMINATION OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN WATER BY PRECONCENTRATION AND INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA-MASS SPECTROMETRY April 1997

G. Muller, “Index of Geoaccumulation in Sediments of the Rhine River,” GeoJournal, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1969, pp. 108-118.