title: Organochlorine compounds in soils and sediments of the mountain Andean Lakes.
abstract: Semi-volatile organochlorine compounds (OC) were analyzed in remote Andean soils and lake sediments. The sampling sites covered a wide latitudinal gradient from 18 degrees S to 46 degrees S along Chile and an altitudinal gradient (10-4500 m). The concentrations were in the order of background levels, involving absence of major pollution sources in the high mountain areas. Significant correlations were found between log-transformed concentrations of hexachlorobenzene, alpha- and gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane in soils and total organic content (TOC). In addition, TOC-normalized concentrations of the most volatile OC showed a significant linear dependence with air temperature. This good agreement points to temperature as a significant factor for the retention of long range transported OC in remote ecosystems such as the Andean mountains, although other variables should not be totally excluded. The highest concentrations of OCs were achieved in the sites located at highest altitude and lowest temperature of the dataset.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Borghini
authors.forename: Joan O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Grimalt
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Hernandez
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barra
authors.forename: Carlos J Torres
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Focardi
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D002677:Chile; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005618:Fresh Water; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D012989:Soil Pollutants