Abstract
Recent studies show that lanthanides (Ln) are becoming emerging pollutants due to their wide application in new technologies, but their environmental fate, transport, and possible accumulation are still relatively unknown. This study aims to determine major and trace elements including Ln in the Danube River sediment which either belong or close to the Iron Gate Reservoir. The Iron Gate Reservoir is characterized by accumulation of sediments as an effect of building hydropower dam Iron Gate I. The surface sediments were collected on the Danube River-1141 to 864 km and three tributaries along this waterway. Two samples of deep sediments were used for comparison. The results indicate the significant upward enrichment of Zn, Sb, Cr, Nd, and Dy in sediments belongs to the Iron Gate Reservoir. The sample 4-Smed is labelled as a hot spot of contamination with Zn, Cr, As, Sb, Nd, and Dy. Also, a trend of increasing concentration in the time period from 1995 to 2016 was found for elements Zn, Cr, and Ni in sediment samples in the Iron Gate Reservoir. Chemometric analysis shows the grouping of sample sites into clusters characterized by the following properties: (i) increased concentration of all measured elements (samples within the Iron Gate Reservoir); (ii) increased Cu concentration (11-Pek); and (iii) lower concentrations of the measured elements (deep sediments). The data presented hereby contribute to the monitoring of pollution of the River Danube sediments and give the first view of Ln profile in the studied sediments.