Temporal trends of hydrocarbons in sediment cores from the Pearl River Estuary and the northern South China Sea.
Concentrations and fluxes of unresolved complex mixture of hydrocarbons (UCM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed for two (210)Pb dated sediment cores from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and the adjacent northern South China Sea (NSCS). Compound-specific stable carbon isotopic compositions of individual n-alkanes were also measured for identification of the hydrocarbon sources. The historical records of PAHs in the NSCS reflected the economic development in the Pearl River Delta during the 20th century. PAHs in the NSCS predominantly derive from combustion of coal and biomass, whereas PAHs in the PRE are a mixture of petrogenic and pyrogenic in origins. The isotopic profiles reveal that the petrogenic hydrocarbons in the PRE originate predominantly from local spillage/leakage of lube oil and crude oils. The accumulation rates of pyrogenic PAHs have significantly increased, whereas UCM accumulation has slightly declined in the NSCS in the recent three decades.
Peng
Xianzhi
X
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 511 Kehau Street, Guangzhou 510640, China. pengx@gig.ac.cn
Wang
Zhendi
Z
Yu
Yiyi
Y
Tang
Caiming
C
Lu
Hong
H
Xu
Shiping
S
Chen
Fanrong
F
Mai
Bixian
B
Chen
Shejun
S
Li
Kechang
K
Yang
Chun
C
D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007856:Lead Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D013995:Time; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007856:Lead Radioisotopes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical