Abstract

The impacts of human and industrial activities on the physico-chemical quality of sediment of Azuabie Creek in the upper Bonny Estuary of the Niger Delta, Nigeria were studied. Major waste inputs into the creek include run-off from surrounding lands, animal wastes from a major abattoir, human/domestic waste from a high density settlements along the creek and industrial effluents from Trans-Amadi industrial area, hosting a number of manufacturing and oil servicing companies. Sediment samples were collected from ten sampling stations, seven (st. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) along the main creek and three (st. 3, 4 and 5) along a creeklet that empties into the main creek. These stations were selected to reflect various points of domestic and industrial waste inputs along the creek. Particle size distribution indicated sediments were generally sandy-mud in nature with higher proportions of clay. Seasonal and spatial variations were observed in mean pH values of sediments while the oxidation-reduction potential of the sediment varied remarkably. TOC in the study area were generally above 1% across all stations during the study while mean values of THC, ranged from 210±0.01 to 10750±0.71.3 mg/kg. $NO_3$ and $PO_4$ also varied significantly (p≤0.001). It is concluded that physicochemical variables of sediment from Azuabie Creek are influenced by pollution sources and these would affect the benthic community in the estuarine creek.

Keywords:

Bonny estuary, effluents, Nigeria, nutrients, redox potential, sediment,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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The authors have no competing interests.