EGYPTIAN JOURNAL OF AQUATIC RESEARCH 1687-4285 VOL. 31 NO. 2, 2005: 145-165. *Corresponding author E-mail: khalid19670@yahoo.com CONCENTRATION OF NINE HEAVY METALS IN SUEZ CANAL WATERS, EGYPT EL-MOSELHY, KH. M.*; EL SAMRA, M. I. and ABD EL-AZIM, H. National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Suez, Egypt Keywords: Dissolved and particulate heavy metals; water; Suez Canal; Lake Timsah; Bitter lakes; Suez Bay; Egypt. ABSTRACT The concentration of nine heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, Fe and Mn) in waters of the Suez Canal and in the nearby waters was measured seasonally during 1997 – 1998 in their dissolved (D) and particulate (P) forms. The results revealed that the northern part of the canal (at Port Said) recorded higher concentrations for most metals than those in the other parts along the canal. The metals exhibited clear differences in the distribution of their P and D forms. All the time, the P form was the dominant form, except in summer. Some metals, such as Cu (67.6 and 53.4 %) and Cd (68.6 and 71.4 %), showed high D form than those P one in the surface and bottom waters. This could be attributed to mobilization of metal ions from bottom sediments (under low oxygen content) or due to mineralization process as for Cd, Cr and Zn. Statistically, of course the p and D forms showed stronger positive significant correlation with total. In the mean time, Fe and Cr showed positive significant correlation between their D and P forms. The distribution coefficients “K D ” for the different metals between the two phases were calculated and assessed. INTRODUCTION Suez Canal, the main route joining east with west world, was opened for international navigation since 17 November 1869. It extends between 29 o 55 \ N at Suez on the Gulf of Suez and 31 o 15 \ N at Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea, and stretches between 32 o 17 \ E and 32 o 35 \ E, with an average length along the major axis of 164 km. (Fig. 1). The cross - sectional area of the canal however varies between 3900 and 4200 m 2 . The canal depth ranges from 20.5 to 25.5 m (UNEP, 1997). It is worth mentioning that the canal passes in its way through a number of lakes, called Lake Timsah (in the north at km 76 from Port Said) and the Great and Little Bitter Lakes in the southern part (between km 97.5 at Diversion and km 134.5 at Ginefa). The average depth of Little Bitter Lake on both sides of the navigation channel (2 m) is shallower than those for the Great Bitter Lake (about 5 - 10 m). According to Baussan (1983), the current regime in the canal is time dependant (a) from winter to early summer, the current generally flows from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, i.e. from south to north, (b) during summer, in the northern part of the canal, the current follows firstly the reversal direction i.e. from Mediterranean to the Bitter Lakes, (c) during late summer, a predominant southward current is established, and (d) in November, the current regains its original direction towards the north. However, in recent years, there has been a remarkable population growth, accompanied by intense urbanization, an increase of industrial activities and a higher exploitation of cultivable land. These transformations have brought about a huge increase in the quantity of discharges and a wide