Geochemical and foraminiferal analyses of the bottom sediments of Dammam coast, Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia

Bottom sediment samples were collected from 17 locations of the Dammam coast, Dammam city, Saudi Arabia in April 2014. The concentrations of iron, chromium, manganese, nickel, zinc, cadmium, lead, and copper in the bottom sediments were measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The mean metal concentrations are Fe (372.4 mu g/g), Mn (5.9 mu g g(-1)), Zn (5.1 mu g g(-1)), Cu (6.3 mu g g(-1)), Pb (2.1 mu g g(-1)), Ni (4.4 mu g g(-1)), Cr (6.5 mu g g(-1)), and Cd (0.1 mu g g(-1)). The distribution of benthic foraminifera in the collected samples was investigated. Twenty-nine species of 12 genera under nine families and three suborders were recorded. The most common genera are Peneroplis and Quinqueloculina which attain 39 and 38 % of the recorded fauna, respectively. The other common genera which were recorded in the study area are as follows: Ammonia (9 %), Spiroloculina (6 %), Triloculina (5 %), Sorites (1.1 %), and Textularaia (1 %). The other genera that have been recorded represent minor constituents. Some species exhibit abnormal test morphologies that may indicate environmental stress.