నైరూప్య

Heavy Metal Accumulation in the Surface Sediments off Pondicherry, Bay of Bengal, South East Coast of India

A.Solai, M.Suresh Gandhi, K.Kasilingam and E.Sriraman

The Surface sediment samples were analyzed for grain size, carbonates (CaCO3), organic Matter (OM) to obtain a preliminary view of its environmental conditions off Pondicherry along the southeast coast. India. Investigations on the accumulation of heavy metals (Mn, Cr, Cu,Cd, Ni, Pb ,Zn,) in sediments using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer at off Pondicherry coast, lying along the southeast coast of India. In sediments, the order was Cr>MN>Pb>Zn>Cu>Ni>Cd. The high concentration of sand in the surface sediments is attributed to the tidal influence at the Virampattinam. The sea water which enters the river suspends the flocculated sediments at the mouth and transports the fine floccules to the water column. The tidal currents also play a major role in removing the fine particles from the river mouth. The value of OM does not show any significant variation towards depth