Sedimentary Record and Potential Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Central Basin Sediments of the Bohai Sea.

The heavy metal contamination of Bohai Sea, the largest inland sea and a major fishing ground in China, has raised wide public concern in recent years and may pose serious threats to human health and ecological system. However, the sedimentary records of heavy metals in Bohai Sea were still relatively rare. In this study, we sampled a sediment core B13 in the central Bohai Sea, investigated the levels and vertical distributions of heavy metals, assessed the pollution history and ecological risks. Our results indicated that the vertical distributions of heavy metals showed a steady increasing trend towards the surface and the sediment profile B13 showed slight pollution with As, Sb and Pb. Moreover, the As, Sb and Ni may also have non-negligible ecological risks. Based on comprehensive analysis of the above results, the vertical distributions of these proxies may reflect the potential fingerprints of anthropogenic impact intensities over the past few decades. Our results provide valuable information for understanding the heavy metal pollution records and its potential influence of human activities in Bohai Sea.