Interstitial and adsorbed phosphates in shelf sediments off Visakhapatnam, east coast of India

Abstract

Spatial distribution of interstitial and adsorbed phosphates in the shelf sediments shows an increasing trend with distance from coastal to inshore region. Maximum concentration ranges of interstitial and adsorbed phosphates are 16-19 and 40-50 mu g.g super(-1) respectively in the inshore regions. Significant positive correlations between these fractions of phosphate and texture of sediments are noticed.