Natürlicher gehalt und anthropogene anreicherung von Schwermetallen in den Sedimenten von Elbe, Eider, Trave und Schwentine

The sediments of four rivers in Northern Germany were analysed for heavy metals. 371 sediment samples were taken from 24 investigation sites of the rivers Elbe, Eider, Trave and Schwentine and from North Sea tidal flat areas. Within each investigation site strong positive relationships exist between the heavy metal contents and the contents of the fine size fractions < 2 μm and < 20 μm of the sediments. To compare the metal contents in the sediments from different areas, differences in grain size were eliminated by computing the metal contents for a clay content of 25% by means of regression equations.The fluvial sediments at a few inland investigation sites, as well as the tidal flat sediments are not detectably polluted with heavy metals. Their metal contents could be used as background values for computing enrichment factors of polluted fluvial deposits.Sediments from the river Elbe in and upstream of the port of Hamburg, and from some parts of the rivers Eider and Trave near industrial and densely populated districts, are highly enriched with heavy metals. The highest enrichment factors are for Hg 85, Cd 56, Pb 37, Cu 34, Zn 29, As 19, Cr 6, Ni 4 and Co 3 times the background values.The ecological importance of the heavy metal contents in the sediments is discussed.