The elemental chemistry of sediments in the Nainital lake, Kumaun Himalaya, India

The composition of suspended, bed and core sediment samples from Nainital lake have been determined to assess the sources of metal contamination. The suspended sediments act as a major reservoir for a large part of the anthropogenically derived heavy metals. Coarse grained, poorly sorted and detrital rich, bed sediments together with high sedimentation rate (1.15 cm/yr) result in dilution of heavy metals by terrigenous material. It is difficult to determine the background levels as no significant enrichment is discernible in the upper layers of the cores. The suspended sediment data therefore reveals more of the population burden of the lake. The high correlation coefficient between various elements reflects the similar adsorption characteristics and a common sink in the sediments.