TRACE-METALS IN SHALLOW SEDIMENTS FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL REGION OF ISRAEL

Concentrations of mercury, lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, iron and alumi nium were recorded in coastal and river mouths surficial sediments, co llected along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, during 1988-91. The l evels of trace metal concentrations when normalized against Fe concent ration (trace metal/iron ratios) indicated no contamination at most of the stations along the coast. Enrichment of Hg, Cu, Zn and Cd attribu ted to land-based point sources of pollution, was found in the estuari es of the Kishon and Yarkon rivers. The normalized Pb, Cu and Zn data showed a trend of increasing values from the south toward the north. T his S-N trend could be a result of three processes which may be occurr ing simultaneously: progressive mixing between sediment with a low tra ce metal/iron ratio in the south, which probably represents a single s ource derived from the Nile region with (a) non-point source input of pollutants by atmospheric transport, or (b) with point sources of poll utants introduced by rivers and streams, or (c) a natural change in th e mineralogy of the sediments along the coast with a relative increase in the trace metals or a decrease in iron as one progresses further n orth. The relative importance of these three possible processes remain s to be established.