Sedimentary loadings and ecological significance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a typical mariculture zone of South China.
Two sediment cores were collected from Hailing Bay located in a typical mariculture zone of Guangdong Province, South China, and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The concentrations of the sum of 27 PAHs ranged from 62 to 1200 ng g(-1) dry wt, and sediment in the study area was considered to be moderately polluted by PAHs. Source diagnostics based on PAH composition and principal component analysis suggested that PAHs in the study area were mainly derived from petroleum combustion, with discharge of PAHs from fishing boats as an important source. Ecological risk assessment results indicate that PAHs in sediment of the present study currently have minimal adverse effect on the mariculture environment. Comparison of sedimentary inventory of PAHs in the fish harbor of the study area with those in the Pearl River Estuary and the coastal Bohai Bay indicate that the sediment has become an important reservoir of PAHs.
State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Huan-Yun
HY
Yu
Lian-Jun
LJ
Bao
Charles S
CS
Wong
Yuanan
Y
Hu
Eddy Y
EY
Zeng
D017756:Aquaculture; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical