Distribution of selected heavy metals and rare earth elements in surficialsediments from the Polish sector of the Vistula Lagoon

The concentrations of 22 trace elements plus the rare earth elements (REE) were determined in the <63 mu m fraction of surficial sediments from the Po lish sector of the Vistula Lagoon by ICP-MS. For the anthropogenically-enri ched elements, the mean element enrichment factors (EF's) decrease in the s equence Ag (9.9) > Sb (7.5) > As (5.8) greater than or equal to Cd (5.2) > Pb (3.7), albeit with large variability in concentration in the sediments f rom one station to another. These observations demonstrate that sediments f rom the Vistula Lagoon are locally polluted by these anthropogenically-deri ved elements. Plots of NASC-normalized REE data show that the REE patterns of the sediments have not been significantly modified during transport from their source with only a minor depletion of the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) compare to the light rare earth elements (LREE). The lack of any sig nificant anomalies for Ce and Eu indicates that redox processes have not pl ayed a major role in modifying the distribution of the REE. Factor analysis of the compositional data shows that sediments from the Polish sector of t he Vistula Lagoon can be divided into three main groups depending on the ge ographical location and the degree of contamination by heavy metals. (C)199 9 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ail rights reserved.