Afifa, Sehr; Qazi, Adnan Ahmad (2026): Total heavy metal concentrations and contamination/geoaccumulation indices in surface sediment at four Indus Basin barrages, Punjab, Pakistan [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.997450
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Published: 2026-09-17 • DOI registered: 2026-09-17
Abstract:
This dataset reports total heavy metal concentrations (copper, cadmium, iron, lead, arsenic) in surface sediment at four barrages on the Indus Basin river system in Punjab, Pakistan - Head Sulemanki (Sutlej), Taunsa Barrage (Indus), Head Punjnad (Chenab-Sutlej confluence), and Head Islam (Sutlej) - sampled on 27 June 2026. One composite sediment sample was collected and analysed per site; no field replicates were taken, so no within-site variance or confidence interval can be attached to any single-site value. Contamination factor (CF) and geoaccumulation index (Igeo) are reported for copper, cadmium, and lead only, these being the three metals for which the source thesis provides an explicit background reference value (see the Reference_Values sheet); iron and arsenic are reported as concentrations only, since no comparable background value is given in the source. Sediment quality guideline quotients, TEL- and PEL-based, are additionally reported for cadmium.
This dataset is derived from "Heavy Metal Speciation in Riverbed Sediments and Trophic Transfer to Benthic Fish at Selected Barrages of Punjab", a thesis by Afifa Sehr (24-CUVAS-0082), Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur, Pakistan (2026). All values are transcribed verbatim from the source thesis; none has been estimated, imputed, or otherwise generated. The source thesis's methods describe a three-season sampling design, but the data reported here reflect a single sampling date only.
Related to:
Afifa, Sehr (in prep.): Heavy Metal Speciation in Riverbed Sediments and Trophic Transfer to Benthic Fish at Selected Barrages of Punjab [thesis]. Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur, Pakistan [24-CUVAS-0082]
References:
Smith, Sherri L; MacDonald, Donald D; Keenleyside, Karen A; Ingersoll, Christopher G; Jay Field, L (1996): A Preliminary Evaluation of Sediment Quality Assessment Values for Freshwater Ecosystems. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 22(3), 624-638, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0380-1330(96)70985-1
Taylor, Stuart Ross; McLennan, Scott M (1995): The geochemical evolution of the continental crust. Reviews of Geophysics, 33(2), 241, https://doi.org/10.1029/95RG00262
Documentation:
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 30.008333 * Median Longitude: 71.987500 * South-bound Latitude: 29.350000 * West-bound Longitude: 70.850000 * North-bound Latitude: 30.700000 * East-bound Longitude: 73.883333
Date/Time Start: 2026-06-27T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2026-06-27T00:00:00
Minimum DEPTH, sediment/rock: 0.025 m * Maximum DEPTH, sediment/rock: 0.025 m
Event(s):
Chenab-Sutlej_River_Head_Punjnad * Latitude: 29.350000 * Longitude: 71.033333 * Date/Time: 2026-06-27T00:00:00 * Elevation: 111.0 m * Location: Punjab, Pakistan * Comment: Sediment and fish samples were taken on this position/date. Coordinates converted (arc-minute precision, ~1.8 km). Elevation values are approximate.
Indus_River_Taunsa_Barrage * Latitude: 30.700000 * Longitude: 70.850000 * Date/Time: 2026-06-27T00:00:00 * Elevation: 161.0 m * Location: Punjab, Pakistan * Comment: Sediment and fish samples were taken on this position/date. Coordinates converted (arc-minute precision, ~1.8 km). Elevation values are approximate.
Sutlej_River_Head_Islam * Latitude: 29.683333 * Longitude: 72.183333 * Date/Time: 2026-06-27T00:00:00 * Elevation: 138.0 m * Location: Punjab, Pakistan * Comment: Sediment and fish samples were taken on this position/date. Coordinates converted (arc-minute precision, ~1.8 km). Elevation values are approximate.
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event label | Event | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | |||
| 2 | Latitude of event | Latitude | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | |||
| 3 | Longitude of event | Longitude | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | |||
| 4 | Date/Time of event | Date/Time | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | |||
| 5 | Elevation of event | Elevation | m | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | ||
| 6 | District | District | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | |||
| 7 | Depth, sediment/rock, top/minimum | Depth sed top | m | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | ||
| 8 | Depth, sediment/rock, bottom/maximum | Depth sed bot | m | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | ||
| 9 | DEPTH, sediment/rock | Depth sed | m | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Geocode | |
| 10 | Copper | Cu | µg/g | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | see reference(s) | Describes an aqua-regia-style total digestion |
| 11 | Cadmium | Cd | µg/g | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | see reference(s) | Describes an aqua-regia-style total digestion |
| 12 | Iron | Fe | µg/g | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | see reference(s) | Describes an aqua-regia-style total digestion |
| 13 | Lead | Pb | µg/g | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | see reference(s) | Describes an aqua-regia-style total digestion |
| 14 | Arsenic | As | µg/g | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | see reference(s) | Describes an aqua-regia-style total digestion |
| 15 | Contamination factor | Con F | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Copper - Cd/background reference (see ReadMe file) | |
| 16 | Geoaccumulation index | Igeo | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Copper - log2(Cu/1.5×background) | |
| 17 | Geoaccumulation class | Igeo class | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Copper | ||
| 18 | Contamination factor | Con F | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Cadmium - Cd/background reference (see ReadMe file) | |
| 19 | Geoaccumulation index | Igeo | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Cadmium - log2(Pb/1.5×background) | |
| 20 | Geoaccumulation class | Igeo class | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Cadmium | ||
| 21 | Contamination factor | Con F | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Lead - Pb/background reference (see ReadMe file) | |
| 22 | Geoaccumulation index | Igeo | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Lead - log2(Pb/1.5×background) | |
| 23 | Geoaccumulation class | Igeo class | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Lead | ||
| 24 | Sediment quality guideline quotient | SQG-Q | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Cadmium, Cd/TEL (see ReadMe file) | |
| 25 | Sediment quality guideline quotient | SQG-Q | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Calculated | Cadmium, Cd/PEL (see ReadMe file) | |
| 26 | Sediment quality guideline verdict | SQG verdict | Qazi, Adnan Ahmad | Cadmium -Interpretation of SQG-Q(TEL)/SQG-Q(PEL) quotients |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
80 data points
Data
| 1 Event | 2 Latitude | 3 Longitude | 4 Date/Time | 5 Elevation [m] | 6 District | 7 Depth sed top [m] | 8 Depth sed bot [m] | 9 Depth sed [m] | 10 Cu [µg/g] (Describes an aqua-regia-style...) | 11 Cd [µg/g] (Describes an aqua-regia-style...) | 12 Fe [µg/g] (Describes an aqua-regia-style...) | 13 Pb [µg/g] (Describes an aqua-regia-style...) | 14 As [µg/g] (Describes an aqua-regia-style...) | 15 Con F (Copper - Cd/background refere...) | 16 Igeo (Copper - log2(Cu/1.5×backgrou...) | 17 Igeo class (Copper) | 18 Con F (Cadmium - Cd/background refer...) | 19 Igeo (Cadmium - log2(Pb/1.5×backgro...) | 20 Igeo class (Cadmium) | 21 Con F (Lead - Pb/background referenc...) | 22 Igeo (Lead - log2(Pb/1.5×background...) | 23 Igeo class (Lead) | 24 SQG-Q (Cadmium, Cd/TEL (see ReadMe f...) | 25 SQG-Q (Cadmium, Cd/PEL (see ReadMe f...) | 26 SQG verdict (Cadmium -Interpretation of SQ...) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sutlej_River_Head_Sulemanki | 30.3000 | 73.8833 | 2026-06-27 | 155 | Okara | 0 | 0.05 | 0.025 | 124.7 | 1.42 | 5184.2 | 22.1 | 0.54 | 2.771111111 | 0.885502058 | 1 Unpolluted-moderate | 4.733333333 | 1.657894023 | 2 Moderate | 1.105 | -0.440916131 | 0 Unpolluted | 2.382550336 | 0.402266289 | TEL-PEL - occasional effects |
| Indus_River_Taunsa_Barrage | 30.7000 | 70.8500 | 2026-06-27 | 161 | Dera Ghazi Khan | 0 | 0.05 | 0.025 | 32.4 | 3.27 | 8053.9 | 16.5 | 0.31 | 0.720000000 | -1.058893689 | 0 Unpolluted | 10.900000000 | 2.861293729 | 3 Moderate-strong | 0.825 | -0.862496476 | 0 Unpolluted | 5.486577181 | 0.926345609 | TEL-PEL - occasional effects |
| Chenab-Sutlej_River_Head_Punjnad | 29.3500 | 71.0333 | 2026-06-27 | 111 | Rahim Yar Khan | 0 | 0.05 | 0.025 | 35.6 | 3.55 | 1103.7 | 38.4 | 0.26 | 0.791111111 | -0.923010261 | 0 Unpolluted | 11.833333330 | 2.979822118 | 3 Moderate-strong | 1.920 | 0.356143810 | 1 Unpolluted-moderate | 5.956375839 | 1.005665722 | Above PEL - adverse effects likely |
| Sutlej_River_Head_Islam | 29.6833 | 72.1833 | 2026-06-27 | 138 | Bahawalnagar | 0 | 0.05 | 0.025 | 16.3 | 2.14 | 2139.4 | 27.6 | 0.09 | 0.362222222 | -2.050015538 | 0 Unpolluted | 7.133333333 | 2.249613890 | 3 Moderate-strong | 1.380 | -0.120294234 | 0 Unpolluted | 3.590604027 | 0.606232295 | TEL-PEL - occasional effects |