Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171

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Marine Pollution Bulletin

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul

Evaluation of heavy metals contamination and pollution indices levels in

surface sediments of the Bizerte coastal line, Tunisia
Abdelwaheb Aydi a, *, Samir Ghannem b, Ahmed Nasri b, Rania Hessine a, Amine Mezni c
a
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty Science of Bizerte, University of Carthage, Jarzouna 7021, Bizerte, Tunisia
b
Laboratory of Environment Biomonitoring, University of Carthage, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerta (FSB), 7021 Zarzouna, Bizerta, Tunisia
c
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Heavy metal concentrations in surface sediments collected from 17 stations samples in Bizerte coastal line were
Heavy metals determined in order to evaluate the contamination status in the region. Heavy metal concentrations (mg/kg) of
Assessment Bizerte coast line followed the decreasing trend of Fe > Pb > Zn > Mn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Co > Cd. The pollution
Sediment
degree of the surface sediment collected from 17 samples station in Bizerte coast line by heavy metals was
Contamination
Bizerte coast line
evaluated on the basis of pollution indices (EF, Igeo, CF, PLI and CD). Results of Igeo, EF, CF, PLI and DC
demonstrated that pollution levels of Pb and Cd were moderate, which should require more attentiveness as main
pollution factors. However, no pollution was found for Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Co and Mn. Hierarchical cluster analysis
was used to identify the influence of anthropogenic activities on the surface sediment.

1. Introduction of a coastal area based on the heavy metal concentration in sediments

Coastal zones are sites of release and accumulation of a range of
environmental contaminants which eventually affects the sustainability
of living resources and public health (Ghannem et al., 2014; Nasri et al.,
2021c; Amin et al., 2021; Muhammad et al., 2021). Different urban,
sewage and industrial effluents, as well as atmospheric deposition settle
on the bottom sediment and contribute to pollution of the water and eco-
toxicological problem (Nasri et al., 2021a, 2021b; Yang et al., 2011;
Muhammad et al., 2021; Usman et al., 2021; Ghouma et al., 2022).
Sediments serve as a pool of heavy metals and play a significant role in
their distribution in the marine environment, and consequently, they are
largely used to assess the contamination levels in several coastal areas
(Alharbi and El-Sorogy, 2017; Delgado et al., 2010; Nobi et al., 2010).
Therefore, the fate of heavy metals in coastal area has recently been the
focus of extensive literature review (Abrahim and Parker, 2008; Ahmed
et al., 2018; El-Sorogy et al., 2016; El Zrelli et al., 2015; Fang et al.,
2009; Ghannem et al., 2014; González-Macías et al., 2006; Hahladakis
et al., 2013; Omar et al., 2015; Sciarrillo et al., 2020; Vallius et al., 2007;
Zhang et al., 2019). In assessing the effect of heavy metal contamination
on coastal zone, a several approaches and computation methods have
been used by various studies. Hence, the enrichment factor or the
geochemical index have been used to evaluate the contamination degree
(Ahmed et al., 2018; Alharbi and El-Sorogy, 2017; Ekoa Bessa et al.,
2020; Kim et al., 2010; Omar et al., 2015; Renzi et al., 2012; Rigaud
et al., 2011; Saddik et al., 2021).The determination of potential pollu­
tion sources can be also recognized using heavy metals concentration as
the indicators of dissimilar anthropogenic activities (Alharbi and El-
Sorogy, 2017; Amin et al., 2009; Barriada et al., 2007; Ghannem
et al., 2014; Omar et al., 2015; Saddik et al., 2021). In addition, multi­
variate analysis can be a fruitful tool in these cases, Cluster Analysis and
principal Component Analysis (PCA) being the most used techniques
(Aguilera et al., 2021; Ahmed et al., 2018; Aydi, 2015; Varol, 2011;
Wang et al., 2016). The Bizerte coast line receives large inputs of con­
taminants (metals and oil organic, chemicals) from industry (metallur­
gical industry, boatyards, cement works, and tire production factories)
aquaculture, and agriculture, as well as treated and untreated municipal
sewage (Louati et al., 2013). Much of the pollution load is introduced
directly into the coastline. To date, there have been no studies on
determination of heavy metals levels in the sediments of the Bizerte
coastal line zone. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a comprehensive
study for assessing environmental risks from heavy metals in the sedi­
ments. The present work was conducted in this regard and it aims to
evaluate heavy metals levels (Pb, Fe, Zn, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn and Cr) in
surface sediment samples collected from the Bizerte coastal line,

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: abdelwaheb_2000@yahoo.fr (A. Aydi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114171
Received 11 January 2022; Received in revised form 19 September 2022; Accepted 20 September 2022
Available online 28 September 2022
0025-326X/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Aydi et al.
Tunisia. Statistical analysis of data was performed, allowing to ascertain
relationships between investigated variables in the samples and to
identify the origin of the heavy metal pollution sources of the studied
area. The study of their potential contamination refined by application
of multi-indicators evaluation methods through the geo-accumulation
index, enrichment factor, contamination factor, pollution load index,
degree of contamination, and principal component analysis.
2. Materials and methods
The Bizerte coast line, which has an approximate length of 6 km,
width of 300 m and depth of 12 m was chosen as the research area. It is
located between the coordinates 37◦ 15′ 15′′ N - 9◦ 52′ 50′′ E and 37◦ 15′
15′′ N - 9◦ 51′ 02′′ E on the northern of Tunisia (Fig. 1). In this area, there
are several urban and industrials activities, as well as fishing boats ac­
tivities many of them without a treatment system for their wastewaters.
In spite of its regional socio-economic importance, the Bizerte coast line
has been continuously and increasingly, over the past decades, subjected
Fig. 1. Location map of Bizerte coastline and the localization of surface sediment samples.
2
Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171
to human pressures including agricultural, urban, and industrial activ­
ities that generate significant quantities of various types of pollutants
(liquids, solids, and gases) (El Zrelli et al., 2021). Among these pollut­
ants, heavy metals are considered the most toxic ones which can lead to
further pollution in the aquatic environments (Alves Martins et al.,
2016).
In August 2019, surface sediment samples were collected in triplicate
from 17 stations located along the coastal zone of Bizerte. A Van Veen
grab sampler (305 mm x305 mm) was used to take samples of superficial
sediments (5 cm depth).Sediment samples were collected and stored in
glass jars at 4 ◦ C before being air-dried at room temperature (25 ◦ C) and
sieved through a 2-mm mesh.
About 0.2 g of air-dried sediment sample was digested by the
dissolution technique using a mixture of concentrated acid (3 ml HCl +
4 ml HNO3 + 1 ml H2O2 + 0.5 ml HF). After digestion and cooling, the
samples completely dissolved were diluted with 3 % HNO3 to 10 ml for
further analysis. Finally, the heavy metals (Pb, Fe, Zn, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn
and Cr) concentrations were analyzedusing Atomic Absorption
A. Aydi et al.
Spectrometer Perkin-Elmer Analyst 200. The analytical precision was
within 10 % of the variability.
2.1. Assessment of potential heavy metals pollution
To assess the contamination of heavy metals in surface sediment, the
enrichment factor, the contamination factor, Geo-accumulation index as
well as Pollution load index of each sample site was computed.
2.1.1. Enrichment factor (EF)
In order to evaluate the magnitude of anthropogenic contribution
related to the abundance of heavy metals in the examined surface sed­
iments, the computation of enrichment factor (EF) is required (Dick­
inson et al., 1996). The value of EF calculated using the following
formula (Ergin et al., 1991):
(Cx /CFe )sample
EF = (1)
(Cx /CFe )crust or background
Where (Cx/CFe) sample is the ratio of concentration of heavy metals in the
examined sediments samples (Cx) to that of Fe (CFe) in the sediment
sample and (Cx/CFe)crust or background is the same ratio in unpolluted
baseline samples. Accordingly, the degree of enrichment can be classi­
fied as 7 classes(Li et al., 2019): EF < 1 (no enrichment), 1 < EF < 3
(minor enrichment), 3 < EF < 5 (moderate enrichment), 5 < EF < 10
(moderately severe enrichment), 10 < EF < 25 (severe enrichment), 25
< EF < 50 (very severe enrichment) and EF > 50 (extremely severe
enrichment).
2.1.2. Geo-accumulation index
The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) was calculated following the Eq.
(2) (Muller, 1969):
( )
Cn
Igeo = Log2 (2)
1.5Bn
Where Cn is the concentration of the element in the enriched samples
and Bn is the background concentration of the element in the Earth's
crust. The factor 1.5 is used to account possible variations due to
lithogenic effects (Ruiz, 2001).
Muller (1969) has categorized Igeo index as follows: unpolluted
(Igeo≤0) (Class 0); unpolluted to moderately polluted (0 < Igeo≤1)
(Class 1); moderately polluted (1 < Igeo≤2) (Class 2); moderately to
heavily polluted (2 < Igeo≤3) (Class 3); heavily polluted (3 < Igeo≤4)
(Class 4); heavily to extremely polluted (4 < Igeo≤5) (Class 5); and
extremely polluted (Igeo≥5) (Class 6).
2.1.3. Contamination factor (CF)
For toxicological assessment of surface sediment contamination with
heavy metals, the Contamination factor (CF) was calculated following
the procedure of Hakanson (1980):
Cn
CF = (3)
Bn
Where Cn = heavy metal concentration in sediment sample and Bn =
background concentration of that metal. Based on the level of contam­
ination, Hakanson categorized the CF values: CF<1, low contamination
factor; 1≤CF<3, moderate contamination factors; 3≤CF<6, consider­
able contamination factors; and CF≥6, very high contamination factor
(Ghannem et al., 2014).
The background values for Pb, Fe, Zn, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn and Cr were
70, 35,900, 175, 1, 29, 50, 68,750 and 90 mg/kg, respectively(Hakan­
son, 1980).
2.1.4. Pollution load index (PLI)
The Pollution load index (PLI) was proposed by (Tomlinson et al.,
3
Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171
1980) for assessing pollution which permits a comparison of pollution
levels between sites and at different times. The PLI was determined as
the nth root of the product of the n CF:
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅)
PLI = n CF1 × CF2 × …CF3 (4)
Where CF = contamination factor; n = number of heavy metals.
The pollution load index includes the four following classes: no
pollution (PLI < 1), moderate pollution (1 < PLI < 2), heavy pollution
(2 < PLI < 3), and extremely heavy pollution (3 < PLI) (Zarei et al.,
2014).
2.1.5. Degree of contamination (CD)
The degree of contamination (Cd) is defined as the sum of CF for each
heavy metals tested according to the following formula (Rehman et al.,
2018):
∑
n
CD = CF (5)
i=1
Hakanson (1980) proposed four classes of CD: low degree contami­
nation (CD < 6), moderate degree contamination (6 < CD < 12),
considerable degree of contamination (12 < CD < 24) and high degree
contamination (CD > 24).
3. Results and discussions
In Table 1, the concentrations of 9 heavy metals in the 15 surface
coastal sediments along the Bizerte coastline has been illustrated.
The mean concentrations of these heavy metals following the
decreasing trend of Fe > (384 mg/kg) > Pb (4.7 mg/kg) > Zn (2.7 mg/
kg) > Mn (2.3 mg/kg) > Cu (1.1 mg/kg) > Cr (0.6 mg/kg) > Ni (0.5 mg/
kg) > Co (0.1 mg/kg) > Cd (0.03 mg/kg).
The abundance order of total heavy metal concentrations in sam­
pling station was found to be: S3 > S14 > S13 > S15 > S11 > S4 > S12
> S7 > S10" > S2 > S6 > 10’ > S10 > S5 > S8 > S1 > S9. The maximum
levels of heavy metals concentration were found at station S3, due to
high anthropogenic activities in the area.
The minima of Cd (0.01 mg/kg), Co (0.02 mg /kg), Fe (113 mg/kg)
and Mn (0.8 mg/kg) were observed in station S9, the minima of Pb (0.3
mg /kg), Cu (0.01 mg /kg), Ni (0.20 mg/kg) and Zn (0.77 mg /kg) in
station S15 and the minima of Cr (0.3 mg/kg) is recorded in station S11.
The lowest heavy metals concentrations were recorded at stations S9
and S15, due to low anthropogenic activities in the area. The high heavy
metals concentrations was recorded for iron (955 mg/kg) in station S14
which can be attributed to the discharge of steel scrap plant.
The variations in the concentrations of heavy metals are mainly to be
related to the variable intensity of various human activities along the
coastal line of Bizerte likely agrochemicals from agriculture fields,
urban, and numerous industrial facilities (such as the Cement Factory of
Bizerte, Tunisian Company of Lubricants, and Tunisian Company of
Refining Industries) (El Zrelli et al., 2021). Apart from these, the set­
tlements domestic wastes are released directly into the Bizerte coast line
without being treated feeding this water body with significant quantities
of contaminants.
Comparison of metal concentration in sediments from other coastal
areas, concentrations of Fe, Pb, Zn, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Co and Cd in Bizerte
cost line surface sediments were illustrated in Table 1. In general, the
heavy metals concentration obtained in this study were in the range
recorded in other Mediterranean Sea coast (Table 1), or even lower in
some cases (Alomary and Belhadj, 2007; Alonso Castillo et al., 2013; El
Nemr et al., 2007; Neşer et al., 2012; Saddik et al., 2021).This finding
can be further validated by the calculation of pollution indices.
A. Aydi et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171

Table 1
Comparison between heavy metal concentrations in the studied surface sediments with those obtained by other worldwide Mediterranean Sea.
Site Cd Co Cr Cu Fe Mn Ni Pb Zn

S1 0.01 0.03 0.3 0.49 150 2.1 0.2 6.1 1.1

S2 0.01 0.05 0.4 0.43 275 1.4 0.5 2.1 1.7
S3 0.02 0.29 0.6 3.12 950 2.2 1.6 14.7 4.9
S4 0.02 0.06 1.3 5.1 322 1.8 0.8 41.5 6.3
S5 0.01 0.03 0.5 0.65 166 1.1 0.4 1.5 2.7
S6 0.03 0.05 0.4 1.22 270 1.2 0.3 1.5 2.7
S7 0.10 0.05 1.1 1.14 322 2.2 0.4 3.4 4.6
S8 0.01 0.04 0.4 0.57 165 1.6 0.3 1.0 2.1
S9 0.01 0.02 0.4 0.62 113 0.8 0.2 1.1 3.2
S10 0.02 0.08 0.5 1.61 168 2.0 0.4 1.0 2.7
S10' 0.22 0.09 0.6 2.55 245 1.9 0.5 2.5 3.2
S10" 0.15 0.08 0.9 0.33 304 1.9 0.4 0.4 1.5
S11 0.01 0.18 0.3 0.45 402 3.0 0.3 0.7 3.0
S12 0.05 0.10 0.3 0.29 345 1.7 0.2 1.1 1.0
S13 0.04 0.22 0.8 0.24 848 4.2 0.8 0.7 2.1
S14 0.04 0.24 1.4 0.11 955 7.4 0.6 0.4 1.5
S15 0.03 0.08 0.4 0.01 532 2.9 0.20 0.3 0.8
Range 0.01–0.22 0.02–0.29 0.3–1.4 0.01–5.1 113–955 0.8–7.4 0.2–1.6 0.3–41.5 0.8–6.3
Malaga bay 0.021–0.283 – 4.31–26.0 6.57–21.2 – – 9.48–40.2 7.92–37.1 –
(Spain)a
Mediterranean sea (Algeria)b 0.1–2.3 – 2.6–18.9 1.1–10.4 – – 0.8–54.9 1.3–11.5 5.3–45.7
Nador and Al Hoceima (Morocco)c DL-0.2 – 4.66–16.76 0.87–4.54 – – DL-2.30 DL-3.90 8.62–23.20
Mediterranean sea (Egypt)d 4.0–53.4 16.64–81.3 11.58–109.55 6.94–192.5 – 13.48–1384.27 36.30–154.3 49.90–219.5 86–970
Mediterranean sea (Turkey)e 0.06–3.94 – 65–264 20–703 – 283–1192 28–240 91.3–751 86.8–129.0

DL: Detection Limit.

a
Alonso-Castillo et al. 2013.
b
Alomary et al. 2007.
c
Saddik et al.2021.
d
Nemr et al. 2007.
e
Neser et al. 2012.

3.1. Indices of the heavy metal contamination assessment
3.1.1. Enrichment factors (EF)
The Enrichment Factor (EF) in metals a widely used to assess the
presence and intensity of anthropogenic contaminant relative to average
natural abundance (Ghouma et al., 2022). The mean EF values of Co, Cr,
Cu, Mn and Ni were lower than 1, indicating “no enrichment”, whereas
Pb, Cd and Zn were lower than 3, indicating “minimal enrichment”. The
EF values for Pb in the surface sediments of this station were 4.9, indi­
cating “moderate enrichment”. The EF value for Cd at station S10' was
2.9, indicating “minor enrichment” (Fig. 2). As a whole, the EF values of
studied heavy metals in The Bizerte coast line followed a descending
order of Pb > Cd > Zn > Cu > Ni > Cr > Co > Mn.
The pollution degrees of heavy metals in surface sediments are
evaluated by the geo-accumulation index (Igeo). The Igeo values ranged
from − 8.68 to − 0.46 for Cd (mean of − 4.78), − 9.61 to − 5.69 for Co
(mean of − 7.63), − 8.42 to − 6.30 for Cr (mean of − 7.57), − 12.17 to
− 3.25 for Cu (mean of − 6.42), − 10.41to − 7.19 for Mn (mean of − 9.70),
− 8.52 to − 5.56 for Ni (mean of − 7.53), − 6.36 to − 0.71 for Pb (mean of
− 6.98) and − 7.95 to − 4.92 for Zn (mean of − 6.93)(Fig. 3). All of the
obtained results are below zero (Igeo < 0) indicating that the pollution
degree with respect to heavy metals is unpolluted. The geo-
accumulation index (Igeo) values of the studied heavy metals showed
the decreasing order of Pb > Cd > Zn > Cu > Ni > Cr > Co > Mn.
The CF is widely used to evaluate the degree of pollution in sediment
by heavy metals (Aydi, 2015). Based on the Muller (1969) classification

Fig. 2. Enrichment factor ofPb, Fe, Zn, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn and Cr in the surface sediments collected from the 17 samples sites.

4
A. Aydi et al.
Fig. 3. Geoaccumulation index (Igeo)of heavy metals in surfaces sediments along Bizerte coast line.
of CF values, all heavy metal exhibited “low” contamination (CF<1)
along the Bizerte coast line, except for Pb which showed moderate
contamination (1≤CF<3) in stations S4 (2.59), respectively. The higher
CF value for Pb could be attributed to sewage discharge from fishering
and small boats which use diesel as fuel (Fig. 4). The highest CF value
observed in station S4 is due to the reception of sugar refinery water and
beet molasses release, discharge from metal construction factory and
urban wastewater discharge. The CF values of examined heavy metals
decreased in the following sequence: Pb > Cd > Zn > Cu > Ni > Cr > Co
> Mn, which is closer to what has been observed from Igeo and EF
values.
The PLI values attributed to heavy metals in the sediments of the
Bizerte coast line were slightly lower than 1, suggesting no pollution
(Ullah et al., 2019) (Fig. 5).
The degree of contamination (CD) values for all sampling sites
ranged from 0.05 to 2.87, which confirmed that the sediment of the
Bizerte coast line showed a “low degree contamination” (CD < 6)
(Fig. 6). The pollution degree of total heavy metals in sampling station
decreased the following sequence: S4 > S3 > S10' > S1 > S7 > S10” >
S6 > S2 > S10 > S13 > S12 > S5 > S9 > S14 > S8 > S11 > S15.
In the present study, the Person correlation and the cluster analysis
5
Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171
have been used to identify possible source of heavy metals in surface
sediments along the Bizerte coast line. Several positive correlations (p <
0.05) existed between Ni with Co (r = 0.70) and Fe with Co, Mn and Ni
with correlation coefficient 0.92,0.75, and 0.70, respectively, indicating
that these heavy metals probably have the same source, which is most
likely linked to anthropogenic activities. Another positive correlation
was marked between Pb with Cu (r = 0.86) and Zn with Cu and Pb with
correlation coefficient 0.85 and 0.7, respectively, implying that these
heavy metals have a common sources and exhibited similar geochemical
behavior(Wang et al., 2012) (Table 2).
Hierarchical cluster analysis was also conducted to further evaluate
those potential correlations between the heavy metals in surface sedi­
ments samples. Fig. 7 clearly showed two main statistically significant
clusters: group 1 (Pb-Mn-Zn-Cu)influenced mainly by industrial sources
(industrial waste water, stainless manufactory, sugar refinery and agri­
cultural activities)(Sungur et al., 2020),group 2 (Cr–Ni) suggested in­
dustrial sources of contamination (waste water from cement plant),
whereas Fe (group 3) mainly have lithogenic origin and group 4 indi­
cated Co and Cd are closely related to each other, it can therefore be
proposed that heavy metals of the fourth group are mainly derived from
the similar sources.
A. Aydi et al.
Fig. 4. Calculation indices of contamination factor.
Fig. 5. Pollution Load index (PLI) values of the surface sediments samples along Bizerte coast line.
4. Conclusion
Heavy metal concentrations (Pb, Fe, Zn, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn and Cr)
were examined in surface sediments collected from seventeen sampling
station in Bizerte coast line, Northeast Tunisia. This work aimed to assess
the heavy metal pollution status based on the multi-indicators evalua­
tion methods (EF, Igeo, CF, PLI and DC) and identifying the correlations
between these studied heavy metals. The results showed that the orders
of heavy metals concentration in surface sediments are in the following
order: Fe > Pb > Zn > Mn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Co > Cd. Based on the
indices of the heavy metal contamination assessment from EF, Igeo, CF,
PLI and DC values demonstrated that heavy metals pollution in the
Bizerte coast line was from non-contamination to moderate contami­
nation, and the contribution rate of Pb and Cd was largest. Although the
pollution level in the Bizerte coast line was relatively low at present,
long-term dynamic oversight of Cd and Pb should be brought out to
avoid potential ecosystem risks.
6
Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Specific contributions made by each author are as follow:
- Conceptualization: Abdelwaheb Aydi, Samir Ghannem, Ahmed
Nasri, Rania Hessine, Amine Mezni
- Methodology: Abdelwaheb Aydi, Samir Ghannem, Amine Mezni
- Analysis and interpretation: Abdelwaheb Aydi, Ahmed Nasri, Rania
Hessine, Amine Mezni
- Writing original draft, review and revision: Abdelwaheb Aydi,
Ahmed Nasri, Rania Hessine, Amine Mezni
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
A. Aydi et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171

Fig. 6. The Degree of Contamination (CD) values of the 17 sampling station in Bizerte coast line.

Table 2
Pearson correlations between heavy metals in surfaces sediments samples along the Bizerte coast line.
Cd Co Cr Cu Fe Mn Ni Pb Zn

Cd 1
Co − 0.08 1
Cr 0.13 0.27 1
Cu 0.36 0.06 0.38 1
Fe − 0.15 *0.92 0.43 0.03 1
Mn − 0.10 0.68 0.53 − 0.23 *0,75 1
Ni 0.01 *0.70 0.37 0.59 *0.70 0.2 1
Pb 0.02 0.02 0.44 *0.86 0.06 − 0.12 0.50 1
Zn 0.34 0.09 0.46 *0.85 0.05 − 0.22. 0.58 *0.7 1

Significant values (p < 0.05) are shown in bold.

Fig. 7. Cluster dendrogram of heavy metal contents in surfaces sediments samples along the Bizerte coast line.

7
A. Aydi et al. Marine Pollution Bulletin 184 (2022) 114171

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