Implications of physical parameters and trace elements in surface water off Pondicherry, Bay of Bengal, South East Coast of India

The heavy metals generally, enter the aquatic environment through atmospheric deposition, erosion of geological matrix or due to anthropogenic activities caused by industrial effluents, domestic sewage and mining wastes. The main objectives of this paper is to understand the processes controlling major and trace elements in the surface water and to identify natural and anthropogenic sources in the coastal environment using distribution of elemental concentrations to establish regional baseline levels. Totally, 25 samples were collected from offshore Pondicherry and Veerampattnam upto 12 mts depth.Metal enrichments observed close to the major urban areas in the Pondicherry coast are associated with the industrialized activities areas rich in Zn and Pb in the coastal sediments.The higher concentration is observed in the Pondicherry region than the Veerampatnam.