The sediment load and deposition by river discharge and their relation to organochlorine pesticides pollutants in the sediment bottom of Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam

Abstract

Based on previous results from the “River reef impact studies project that was carried out as a co-operation programme between ZMT (Germany) and NIO (Vietnam) from 2008–2012, the variation of sediment load and associated persistent organic pollutants were investigated in Nha Trang Bay. In northern parts of the bay, both suspended matter load and deposition rates are high during the rainy season (flood events). The total suspended matter (TSM) and particulate nitrogen (PN) concentration show variations both with season (dry and rainy seasons) and increasing distances from the coast: TSM ranged from 2.30 to 19.79 mgL-1; and PN concentration ranged from 0.006 to 0.055 mgL-1. High deposition rates occurred both near the shore and in mid-bay, ranging from 12.8 to 36.1 g m-2 d-1. In the southern section of the bay, sediment deposition was slightly lower, with little seasonal variation. The highest deposition rate was measured at the river estuarine site, amounting to 9.1 g m-2 d-1 (dry season) and 9.0 g m-2 d-1 (rainy season). Further, persistent organic pollutants (POP) concentrations in sediment samples and sediment cores clearly showed the presence of organo-chlorine pesticides (OCP pollutant). High accumulation levels of OCP components were found in almost all sediment samples of Nha Trang Bay. The DDT concentrations showed high levels in sediment located in the estuary at the northern part of the bay (ranged: 20.11µg kg-1 to 5.28µg kg-1), and in the southern part (B1) 3.76µg kg-1. This study provides essential data and information, which are needed to assess the long-term impacts of river input on the degradation of marine ecosystems in the coastal waters of Nha Trang Bay.