Measurement Of Metals In Sediment Of The Geum-River And Their Correlation

An investigation of grain size, organic compounds and metal distribution in 23 sediment samples of the Geum-River basin (Korea) was conducted in two seasons of 2012 (dry season and rainy season). The samples of sediment were collected from the basin and investigated for concentrations of some metal and general indexes containing grain size. Concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Hg, Al and Li have been determined by inductively coupled plasma spectrometer (ICP) and the sediments organic matter content was determined by the loss on ignition, and sediments were fractionated with three different nylon sieves. Correlation analysis was made for grain size, organic material and metal concentrations, and the Pearson correlation coefficients between their concentrations were determined. As a result, the higher metal concentrations were found in the period of the dry season than in another season. The metal concentrations showed high correlation with that of organic material (COD and TOC). Thereby, the high distribution of metal concentrations in sediment containing high organic compound is suggesting an interaction with organic matter.