relationship between heavy metal concentration in water and sediments in anzali wetland, iran

background: sediments in marine environment have a large capacity in binding with heavy metals; therefore, they are potential pollutants of water resources. the anzali wetland, located in the southern region of the caspian sea, iran, has been consistently threatened by heavy metal pollutants because of urban, agricultural and industrial wastewater inflow. the purpose of this study is to investigate the affectability of wetland sediments by heavy metal contamination of the upper environment.   methods: in this study, water and sediment samples were collected from 12 stations in anzali wetland and the concentration of pb, ni, cr, v, and hg were measured by acid digestion method. canonical correlation analysis was applied to investigate the relationship between the results of water and sediment samples. findings: the results of acid digestion revealed a high concentration of heavy metals especially in sediment samples. the dry weight of pb, ni, cr, v, and hg were 19.5, 60.1, 90.1, 99.3, and 2.8 mg/kg respectively. the results of canonical correlation analysis showed a strong relationship between water and sediment samples’ heavy metal concentrations. further studies on the cca results indicated that cr and hg were effective on sediment parameters and cr, hg and pb were effective on water parameters. conclusion: the statistical method applied in this study can be an appropriate and low-price method of analysis of pollution in marine environments.