Heavy metals in the bottom sediments of the coastal zone of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland

Abstract

For each summer from 2014 to 2019 the total concentrations of copper, zinc, cadmium, and lead in the surface layers of bottom sediments in the coastal zone of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland were measured. The northern coast in the area of the city of Primorsk currently sees the rate of the pollution of surface-level bottom sediments with heavy metals decrease, although the concentration levels remain high. On the southern coast in the area of the city of Lomonosov the pollution of the bottom sediments is on the rise due to the ongoing construction of the Bronka seaport. In the Koporskaya and Grafskaya Bays a massive growth of macroalgae caused a further accumulation of metals in the bottom sediments, which are greatly impacted by climatic fluctuations.