ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Pollution of Klaipeda Port Waters
Nature Research Center, Institute of Geology and Geography,
T. Sevcenkos 13, LT-03223, Vilnius, Lithuania
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Twelve consecutive seasonal surveys were carried out in Klaipeda port, Lithuania, in 2006-08. Water
parameters such as temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, particulate material, nutrients (N/NH4+,
N/NO2-, N/NO3-, P/PO43-), petroleum hydrocarbons, and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cr, Cd, Hg) were determined
in both the surface and near-bottom water horizons. Total contamination of port waters was evaluated
and the patterns of seasonal and spatial contamination patterns revealed. It was determined that the level of
water contamination in Klaipeda and its separate water areas depends on the input of pollutants from the
Curonian Lagoon basin and local sources, water circulation patterns, and seasonal dynamics of water parameters.
As Klaipeda is in a zone of circulation and maximal interface of fresh (from Curonian Lagoon) and
saline (Baltic Sea) waters, its water pollution is associated with the dominant type of water. The highest levels
of pollution, in combination with the highest water temperatures, highest concentrations of particulate
material and smallest concentrations of O2, occur in summer, when heavy metals, lead in particular, are the
dominant pollutants in the water.
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2011;20(2):445-459
ABSTRACT
contaminants, heavy metals, nutrients, petroleum hydrocarbons, pollution, salinity