In this paper, sediment samples from the HT and QS profiles of the Ganjiang River are selected to represent the river reach that does not enter and entered the Nanchang City urban area, respectively. Environmental magnetism, granulometry, and heavy metal of these samples were analyzed to assess the relationship between magnetic properties and heavy metal. The results showed that the mean χ value of QS profile is 20.32 × 10-8m3/kg, which is higher than that in HT profile (3.80 × 10-8m3/kg), indicating the higher magnetic mineral concentrations. The relatively higher S-100mT, S-300mT, and lower χARM/χ, χARM/SIRM values of QS profile suggest the lower imperfect antiferromagnetic mineral proportion and the coarser magnetic minerals grains, respectively. The heavy metals (i.e., As, Cd, Sb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb) concentration of QS profile is markedly higher than that of HT profile. The PLI of QS profile ranges from 0.5 to 3.33, higher than that in HT profile (0.22 to 2.02), revealing the more serious pollution in urban areas and would be attributed to human activities. In QS and HT profile, the concentration-dependent magnetic parameters (e.g., χ, SIRM, HIRM) are significantly positively correlated with heavy metals and PLI. We also found that with a similar particle size composition, the sediment samples with higher pollution levels exhibit higher χ, SIRM, S-100mT, S-300mT, and lower χARM/χ, χARM/SIRM values, indicating the response of magnetic properties to heavy metal pollution. Magnetic parameters can be used as a heavy metal pollution indicator in the Ganjiang River.
Keywords: Ganjiang river; Heavy metal; Mineral magnetic method; River sediments.
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.