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Concentration and Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments from the Ria Formosa Lagoon

2007; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 8; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/15275920701506359

1527-5922

Luísa Barreira, Stephen M. Mudge, Maria João Bebianno,

Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants

The concentrations of 16 individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in sediments from eight locations in the Ria Formosa Lagoon (Portugal) between January and August 1995. Total PAH concentrations were higher in January than in the other months and were related to the higher sedimentary organic carbon content in the winter. The distribution pattern of the individual PAHs was generally dominated by the 4-aromatic ring PAHs, followed by the 2 + 3-aromatic ring PAHs. Fluoranthene, pyrene, and acenaphthene were the most abundant individual PAHs. Principal components analysis revealed that PAHs in the Ria Formosa Lagoon vary by season rather than location. This variation was related to changes in the source term. In the winter, PAH sources were mainly of pyrolytic origin, probably transported by road runoff. In the other months, and especially in the summer, the most important PAH source was related to boat traffic in the Ria Formosa. Source assessment was also conducted using partial least squares analysis, which confirmed the boat traffic origin, although it was inconclusive for the winter samples.