title: PAH distribution and mass fluxes in the Three Gorges Reservoir after impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam.
abstract: Mass fluxes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were calculated for the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) in China, based on concentration and discharge data from the Yangtze River. Virtual Organisms (VOs) have been applied during four campaigns in 2008, 2009 (twice) and 2011 at sampling sites distributed from Chongqing to Maoping. The total PAH mass fluxes ranged from 110 to 2,160 mg s(-1). Highest loads were determined at Chongqing with a decreasing trend towards Maoping in all four sampling campaigns. PAH remediation capacity of the TGR was found to be high as the mass flux reduced by more than half from upstream to downstream. Responsible processes are thought to be adsorption of PAH to suspended particles, dilution and degradation. Furthermore, the dependence of PAH concentration upon water depth was investigated at Maoping in front of the Three Gorges Dam. Although considerable differences could be revealed, there was no trend observable. Sampling of water with self-packed filter cartridges confirmed more homogenous PAH depth distribution. Moreover, PAH content of suspended particles was estimated from water concentrations gathered by VOs based on a water-particle separation model and subsequently compared to PAH concentration measured in water and in filter cartridges. It could be shown that the modeled data predicts the concentration caused by particle-bound PAHs to be about 6 times lower than PAHs dissolved in water. Besides, the model estimates the proportions of 5- and 6-ring PAHs being higher than in water phase.
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Molecular EXposomics (MEX), Ingolstaedter Landstrasse. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; Technical University Munich, Department for Nutrition and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry, Alte Akademie 10, 85350 Freising, Germany. Electronic address: dominik.deyerling@helmholtz-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deyerling
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Molecular EXposomics (MEX), Ingolstaedter Landstrasse. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; Technical University Munich, Department for Nutrition and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry, Alte Akademie 10, 85350 Freising, Germany; Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Jingxian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Institute for Geotechnical Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 35, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Westrich
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Chengrong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
authors.forename: Yonghong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Molecular EXposomics (MEX), Ingolstaedter Landstrasse. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Henkelmann
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Molecular EXposomics (MEX), Ingolstaedter Landstrasse. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany; Technical University Munich, Department for Nutrition and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry, Alte Akademie 10, 85350 Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl-Werner
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Schramm
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D011210:Power Plants; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Freight; Mass flux; PAH; Pollution; Three Gorges Reservoir; VO