Title: Environmental assessment of marine sediments off Poompuhar, Southeast Coast of India

Authors: Judith D. Silva; Srinivasalu Seshachalam; Saravanan Panchatcharam; Jonathan Muthuswamy Ponniah; Anandasabari Karthikeyan; Priyadarsi D. Roy

Addresses: ENVIS – Centre for Coastal Zone Management and Coastal Shelter Belt, Institute for Ocean Management, Anna University, Chennai-600025, India ' Department of Geology, Anna University, Chennai-600025, India ' Department of Geology, Anna University, Chennai-600025, India ' Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (CIIEMAD), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Calle 30 de Junio de 1520, Barrio la Laguna Ticomán, C.P. 07340, Del. Gustavo A. Madero, México, D.F., Mexico ' Department of Geology, Anna University, Chennai-600025, India ' Departamento de Geoquímica, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad, Universitaria, Mexico DF, CP 04510, Mexico

Abstract: The environmental conditions Off Poompuhar was inferred with the aid of 38 sediment samples collected off Bay of Bengal north of Nagappattinam. Sediments were analysed to understand the geochemistry (textural analysis, TOC, CaCO3, major and trace elements) along the coastal tracts and their pollution rate using various geochemical indices. Metals like Cu, Cr and Zr shows enrichment more than 2, whereas Zr, Cr, Cu and Th show CF values > 1. The Igeo showed values less than one for all except Zr, Cu and Cr of which Cu showed a higher value of 9. The PLI value is < 1 in the study area. At the outset the study reveals that most of the elements are of lithogenic origin, except Cu, Cr and Zn which are of anthropogenic nature. As the area is pristine and no polluting industries nearby, the enrichment of elements might have been received from the upper reaches of River Cauvery.

Keywords: environmental assessment; marine sediments; India; environmental conditions; enrichment factor; contamination factor; geoaccumulation index; pollution load index; water pollution; geochemistry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2014.066516

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2014 Vol.17 No.6, pp.469 - 482

Accepted: 06 Feb 2014
Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article