Heavy metal contamination in suspended solids of Changjiang River - environmental implications

►Spatial and temporal changes of contamination of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in sediment and suspended solid during dry and flood seasons were investigated in 75 locations along the Changjiang River basin. As and Cd had higher Igeo values both in sediment and suspended solid of Changjiang River. ►In a principal component analysis with Varimax rotation, the Panzhihua-Northeast Yunnan and Nanling mining areas were plotted out as the most important heavy metal contamination sources for Changjiang River. Poyang Lake region was contaminated strongly by heavy metals. ►This manuscript demonstrates the chemometric analysis of a very large amount of data and the treatment of such data to make conclusions of environmental significance.