Research Article
Toxic Metals Enrichment in the Surficial Sediments of a Eutrophic Tropical Estuary (Cochin Backwaters, Southwest Coast of India)
Table 4
Comparison of heavy metal levels (ppm) in the Cochin backwaters to that of other Indian and globally impacted coastal systems.
| Location | Zn | Cd | Pb | Cu | References |
| Continental crustal average | 52 | 0.1 | 14.8 | 104 | [44] | Cochin estuary | 10.0–2233.0 | 0.2–40.7 | 6.8–99.6 | 3.6–123.5 | Present study | Cochin estuary | 592–1266.0 | 6.2–14.9 | 39.9–71.3 | 32.4–53.2 | [10] | Mumbai harbour, India | 155 | — | 48 | 105 | [45] | Ganges estuary, India | 611 | — | 115 | 53 | [46] | Bilbao estuary, N. Spain | 1092 | — | 314 | 263 | [47] | Humber estuary, UK | 319 | — | 127 | 70 | [48] | Solway estuary, Scotland | 59 | — | 25 | 7 | [49] | Forth estuary, Scotland | 150 | — | 89 | 86 | [50] | Thames estuary, UK | 219–1050 | 1.3–9.8 | 179–1634 | 61–348 | [51] | Port Phillip Bay, Victoria | — | 2.37 | 43.5 | 25.0 | [52] | New South Wales estuary, Australia | — | 1.60 | 21.0 | 6.0 | [53] | New York Harbor (USA) | 188–244 | 1-2 | 109–136 | 105–131 | [54] | Bremen Harbor (Germany) | 790 | 6.0 | 122 | 87 | [55] | Izmir Harbor (Turkey) | 182 | 6.2 | 97 | 182 | [56] | Rhine estuary (Germany) | 2900 | 45 | 800 | 600 | [57] |
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