Spatial distribution and pollution evaluation in dry riverbeds affected by mine tailings

The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of pollution, sources and potential risk of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Mn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Fe and Pb) and arsenic (As) in four dry riverbeds affected by mine tailing, which drain into one of the biggest coastal lagoon of Europe (Mar Menor). El Beal, La Carrasquilla, Las Matildes and Ponce dry riverbeds sediments were sampled along its course (20, 18, 13, 19 samples were collected, respectively), and total/soluble metal(loid)s, water soluble ions, nitrogen, and organic/inorganic carbon contents were analyzed. Spatial distribution, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), contamination factor (Cf), pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk index (RI) were used to identify the possible sources of metal(loid)s and to assess the sediment pollution status. The results showed that the mean total concentrations of As, Cu, Cd, Mn, Zn and Pb exceeded the natural background levels of the study area, with the highest values located close to the mining areas. Correlation and cluster analysis identified that Cd and Zn were associated mainly with anthropogenic activities for all riverbeds, while Cr and Ni come from parent. PLI graded the four riverbeds as contaminated by heavy metals, while RI manifested that 100% of samples located in El Beal, La Carrasquilla and Las Matildes had a significantly high ecological risk. Therefore, this study suggests that mine wastes are the main source of metal(loids) contamination in the dry riverbeds, which results can be used to design actions and measures to reduce the environmental impact of metal(loid)s in the Mar Menor coastal lagoon.

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Cuevas J.G. Faz A. Martinez-Martinez S. Gabarron M. Beltra J.C. Martinez J. y Acosta J.A. Spatial distribution and pollution evaluation in dry riverbeds affected by mine tailings. Springer Nature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01469-5

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Retrieved: 28 Dec 2025 03:44:07
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Resource type Article
Date of creation 2024-11-05
Date of last revision 2024-11-05
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Metadata identifier ef765a9f-8b0a-5dfc-afa8-33c89f76a19f
Metadata language Spanish
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High-value dataset category Earth observation and environment
ISO 19115 topic category biota
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Name of the dataset creator Cuevas, J.G., Faz, A., Martinez-Martinez, S., Gabarron, M., Beltra, J.C., Martinez, J. y Acosta, J.A.
Name of the dataset editor Springer Nature
Other identifier DOI: 10.1007/s10653-022-01469-5
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Email of the dataset creator jose.cuevas@upct.es
Website of the dataset creator
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