ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY OF SEDIMENTS IN LAKE DONGHU, WUHAN

The distributions of C, N,P,Al,Fe,Ca,Mg,Cu,Zn,Pb,Cd,pH and Eh in the scdimentseries of Lake Donghu in Wuhan were described and anaiysed.The geochemical processes ofthe sediment in this lake have been affected mainly by human activities.Since 1960's,thesedimentation and sediment series in the lake have been disturbed,and the discharge of sew-age water from multiple sources has accelerated the lake's eutrophication. Large amounts ofcarbon, nitrogen and phosphorus have accumulated in the sediment.The accumulation ofthese nutrients is considere to be the major factor aecounting for the deterioration of the lakeenvironment.In addition,the heavy accumulation of phosphorus in the sediment was foundto be synchronous with human disturbance, Hence, the authors are of the opinion that theconcentration ofphosophorus in the sediment may be used as an indicator for the division ofpollution intensities and polluted areas in the sediment of Lake Donghu.