{rfName}
Ex

License and Use

Icono OpenAccess

Altmetrics

Share

October 11, 2024
Publications
>
Article

Extent and Sources of Heavy Metal Pollution from Discharging Rivers in the Bohai Region, China

Publicated to: Water. 16 (7): 982- - 2024-04-01 16(7), DOI: 10.3390/w16070982

Authors:

Kang, R; Zhou, SY; Chen, TT; Yin, HY; Si, LL; Deng, CY; Kaufmann, H
[+]

Affiliations

Shandong Earthquake Agcy - Author
Shandong Univ, Inst Space Sci, Weihai 264209 - Author
Shandong Univ, Sch Space Sci & Phys, Weihai 264209 - Author
Univ Politecn Valencia UPV, Res Inst Water & Environm Engn IIAMA - Author
See more

Abstract

Studies have investigated heavy metal (HM) contamination in the Bohai Sea, but primarily in seawater and associated sediments, or in single rivers. For the first time, 31 major rivers discharging into the Bohai Sea were analyzed, along with 27 uniformly distributed coastal seawater samples and selected invertebrates. The elements measured were As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn. We calculated the 'geo-accumulation index', the 'metal enrichment factor', and the 'contamination factor', coupled with the 'pollution load index', and our findings suggested low-grade HM pollution, although two conspicuous associations of elements were found to stand out in particular: One is a combination of As, Cu, Cr, and V in seawater samples that may indicate pollution from intensive ship traffic. The other shows a significant pattern of Cr, Pb, and Zn in water samples from rivers discharging between Yantai and Weihai on the Shandong Peninsula at the south edge of the Bohai Sea. This is primarily a farming area, with a moderate share of industrial enterprises. Investigations including fertilizers and pesticides point to agricultural practices and textile printing/chrome tanneries as the causes of contamination. Overall, a significant decline was found in the HM load in the rivers, apart from those discharging into the Yellow Sea section.
[+]

Keywords

Bohai seaContaminationFertilizersHeavy metal pollutionIdentificationPesticidesRisk assessmentRisk-assessmentRiver dischargeSeaSurface sediments

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Water due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Aquatic Science.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-04-03:

  • WoS: 3
  • Scopus: 3
[+]

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-03:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 5.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 5 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
[+]

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: China.

[+]