Journal
CHEMISTRY AND ECOLOGY
Volume 28, Issue 3, Pages 205-220Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/02757540.2011.651129
Keywords
marine sediments; Sediment Quality Guidelines; metals; Basque Country; Water Framework Directive
Funding
- Fundacion Centros Tecnologicos-Inaki Goenaga
- Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia
- Fondo Social Europeo
- Basque Water Agency
- Spanish Ministry of Education and Sciences [CTM2006-13880-C03-03/MAR]
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Regional Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQG) for metals from the Basque Country (northern Spain) were determined. These guidelines are proposed to be used for management purposes, within the Water Framework Directive (WFD). SQG were determined on the basis of sediment chemistry, toxicity and benthic community disturbance, from 961 estuarine and coastal samples. The guidelines were calculated using a percentile approach (effect and non-effect data), following normalisation on the fine-sediment content and with non-normalisation. The feasibility of SQG was quantified by the incidence of adverse effects, that is, the ratio of effect/no-effect data, which increased significantly with increasing SQG ranges. The study proposes the following formula to calculate SQG: SQG(metal) = SQG(metal)* mu g.g(-1)/FC. 10(-2) (where FC is fine-sediment content and SQG* is the normalised SQG). The SQG* were 13.5 mu g.g(-1) for As, 1 mu g.g(-1) for Cd, 39 mu g.g(-1) for Cr, 55 mu g.g(-1) for Cu, 0.53 mu g.g(-1) for Hg, 23 mu g.g(-1) for Ni, 78 mu g.g(-1) for Pb and 249 mu g.g(-1) for Zn. The use of four different organisational biological levels ensures an improvement in the determination of metal regional SQG for the assessment of the chemical and physicochemical status in marine waters, within the WFD.
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