Geographical Distribution of Major and Trace Elements and Strontium Isotope Ratios in the Coastal Iranian Water of the Caspian Sea Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

This experiment was conducted in order to investigation on geographical distribution of the 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratio and several major and trace elements (Na, Mg, K, Ca, Li, B, V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Co, Zn, Ga, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ba, Pb and U) was determined in the western and eastern parts of Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea. Samples of coastal water were collected and analyzed. Strontium isotopic ratio and quantification of major and trace elements were done by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) and also ICP-MS respectively. The 87Sr/86Sr isotopic and elemental data were analyzed using Univariate analysis of variance, principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis and cluster analysis. The results showed elemental variations between the western and eastern parts of the Sea. The PCA reduced the isotopic and elemental variables of waters between regions to two components, and indicated that 93.85% of the total variation in elemental concentrations of the waters were related to Na, Mg, K, Ca, Li, B, V, Fe, Co, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, U, Ni, Zn, Pb and 87Sr/86Sr. The differences in 87Sr/86Sr isotopic and elemental concentrations of waters between regions were described with one function; discriminate function (DC1) explained 100% of the variation. Significant correlation was detected among elements in the coastal Iranian water of the Caspian Sea. With the exception of Zn, elemental concentrations of Na, Mg, K, Ca, B, V, Fe, Co, Se, Rb, Sr, and Mo in the eastern parts were significantly higher than in western regions.