Twenty-nine water samples
were collected from different river
channels of the Pearl River Delta
Economic Zone, China. An inductively
coupled plasma-mass spectromonitor
(ICP-MS) was used to
measure concentrations of the trace
elements in these samples. The results
suggest that the average concentrations
of rare earth elements in
river water show an increasing trend
from the West River, the North
River, the rivers of the Pearl River
Delta, and the Shenzhen River to the
East River. Relatively high concentrations
of heavy metals appear in
the East River, the rivers of the Pearl
River Delta and the Shenzhen River,
while the West River and the North
River have relatively low heavy metal
concentrations. Trace element
concentrations in samples collected
near urban or industrial areas are
much higher than those of samples
collected from distant areas, away
from urban and industrial areas.
After natural conditions, human
activities have significant influence
on the trace element concentrations
in river water. This trace element
concentration’s spatial distribution
in the river water from the Pearl
River Delta Economic Zone is
actually an integrated effect of natural
conditions and human activity.