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Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Clean Sampling and Analysis of River and Estuarine Waters for Trace Metal Studies
Published on: July 1, 2016
National-scale dynamics of heavy metals in road-deposited sediments: Spatial clustering and temporal trends,
Zicheng Wang1, Tianchun Zhan1, Quan Zhang2
1Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Ecological Security and Green Development, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Abstract:
Road-deposited sediments (RDS) on urban roads are a substantial heavy-metal sink and a pollution source for urban water bodies and the atmosphere. However, national-scale assessments of RDS metal burdens, ecological risks, and spatiotemporal trends remain limited. We collected RDS metal data from 82 Chinese cities (1490 records from 13,269 samples in total) between 2000 and 2024. Contamination and ecological risks were assessed using the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), potential ecological risk index (Eri), and Nemerow integrated risk index (NIRI), focusing on the spatial distribution of heavy metal buildup loads, Igeo, and NIRI across cities. Spatial patterns were analyzed using hotspot analysis and local indicators of spatial association. To identify long-term trends in diverse literature-derived datasets, we used Monte Carlo resampling to propagate uncertainty and Fe-normalized signatures to reduce grain-size/mineralogical dilution effects. Mn and Zn exhibited the highest buildup loads, while Cd posed the greatest ecological risk. Hotspots were consistently observed for As, Co, Cr, Hg, Mn, and Ni, whereas Cd, Cu, and Pb showed largely random spatial patterns. Temporally, Fe-normalized trends revealed a substantial decline in Zn but a sustained increase in Cd, with minor decreases in Ni and Pb and relatively stable Cu. These divergent trends and metal-specific clustering indicate that universal controls are inefficient. Therefore, hotspot-guided, region-specific interventions that prioritize Cd source reduction and pathway interception are urgently needed.
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