Fig.1- Study area and map of variation in Principal Component 1 (PC1 score) explaining >70% of the variance obtained from robust PCA. Factorial associations of "Non-industrial" and "Industrial" type in the proximal (PZN) and distal (DZN) zones are also indicated.
Fig 1 - Study area and map of the variation of Main Component 1 (PC1 score) explaining > 70% of the variance obtained from robust PCA. The factorial associations of the "Non-industrial" and "Industrial" type are also indicated in the proximal (PZN) and distal (DZN) zones.
With an innovative approach, the sediments of the Bay of Pozzuoli, in the province of Naples, which for decades hosted an industrial site, were analysed.
Determining the causes of the pollution of the former industrial site of Bagnoli (NA), abandoned for over 30 years, is the objective of the study "The first application of compositional data analysis (CoDA) in a multivariate perspective for detection of pollution source in sea sediments: The Pozzuoli Bay (Italy) case study” just published in the journal Chemosphere, conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the Federico II University of Naples and the University of Sannio.
The study used a method of analysis of compositional data (Compositional Data Analysis - CoDA) applied to the marine sediments of the Bay of Pozzuoli where the origin of the metallic and metalloid elements present is the subject of extensive debate.
"The polluting elements contained in the marine sediments taken during a monitoring campaign carried out in 2017 as part of the ABBaCO Project were examined. The results allowed us to highlight that some classes of pollutants (mercury, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc) are widespread in the sediments deposited in front of the former industrial site", explains Renato Somma, INGV researcher and first author of the publication.
“With this methodology, a specific mapping of the polluting substances, and above all of the sources of pollution, was produced; also because in this active volcanic area, characterized by marked hydrothermal activity with fumarolic emissions, pollution of anthropic origin is strongly intertwined with that of natural, geo-genic origin”, says Pooria Ebrahimi of the University of Naples Federico II.
"The results of this characterization offer important elements for the better identification of reclamation interventions in a highly polluted area which has been the subject of urban regeneration projects for years. For example, very high arsenic values have been detected in marine sediments. This consideration is important if we consider that currently the most accredited origin seems to be found only in submarine fumaroles: our study shows that this is not the case", says Giuseppe De Natale, a researcher at INGV.
“One of the most important findings of this study”, highlights Renato Somma, “was the determination that such a geo-genic source of arsenic 'pollution' is negligible; on the contrary, we managed to identify a more important source, although perhaps not the only one, in the Agnano drainage channel".
The results of this study suggest that Compositional Data Analysis (CoDA) can be a valid tool to discriminate the sources of toxic elements contained in marine sediments in polluted areas.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653521004240
---
A new method of analysis for marine sediments of polluted areas.
With an innovative approach, the sediments of the Bay of Pozzuoli, in the province of Naples, which for decades hosted an industrial site, were analysed.
Determining the causes of the pollution of the former industrial site of Bagnoli (NA), which has been abandoned for over 30 years, is the objective of the study "The first application of compositional data analysis (CoDA) in a multivariate perspective for detection of pollution source in sea sediments: The Pozzuoli Bay (Italy) case”, just published in the journal Chemosphere the study was conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the Federico II University of Naples and the University of Sannio.
The study used a method based on the analysis of compositional data (Compositional Data Analysis - CoDA), as applied to the analysis of marine sediments of the Bay of Pozzuoli, where the origin of the metals and metalloids present is much debated.
“The pollutants contained in the marine sediments collected during a monitoring campaign carried out in 2017 as part of the ABBaCO Project were examined. The results allowed us to highlight that some classes of pollutants (mercury, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc) are widespread in the sediments deposited in front of the former industrial”, explains Renato Somma, researcher at INGV and first author of the publication.
“With this methodology, a specific mapping of the polluting substances, and above all of the sources of pollution, has been produced. In this active volcanic area, characterized by a marked hydrothermal activity with fumarolic emissions, pollution of anthropogenic origin is strongly intertwined with that of natural, geogenic origin”, says Pooria Ebrahimi of the University of Naples Federico II.
“The results of this characterization offer important elements for the better identification of the remediation interventions of a highly polluted area which for years has been the subject of urban regeneration projects. For example, very high arsenic values have been found in marine sediments. This is an important consideration if we consider that currently the most accredited origin seems to be found only in underwater fumaroles: but our results show their origin is different”, says Giuseppe De Natale, INGV researcher.
“One of the most important results of this study”, Renato Somma points out, “was the determination that this geogenic source of arsenic 'pollution' is negligible; on the contrary, we were able to identify a more important, although perhaps not unique, source in the Agnano drainage channel”.
The results of this study suggest how Compositional Data Analysis (CoDA) can be a valid tool for discriminating the sources of toxic elements contained in marine sediments in polluted areas.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653521004240