Sedimentary hydrocarbons and sterols in a South Atlantic estuarine/shallow continental shelf transitional environment under oil terminal and grain port influences.
Sterols and hydrocarbons were determined in the surface sediments from the transitional environment between Paranaguá Bay and the shallow continental shelf in the South Atlantic to assess the sources of organic matter (OM) and the contamination status of an area exposed to multiple anthropogenic inputs. Total aliphatic hydrocarbon concentrations were less than 10μgg(-1), which is typical of unpolluted sediments, and related to recent inputs from higher terrestrial plants. Total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ranged from<DL to 14.41ngg(-1) (dry weight), which was predominantly derived from combustion with non-detectable levels occurring in 65% of the samples. Sterols typically related to marine sources predominated in the analysed sediments. Hence, the study area was protected from human activity. The relative absence of anthropogenic input and OM preservation clearly indicate that the organic markers analysed can be used to investigate the biogenic input of sedimentary OM in the study area.
Centro de Estudos do Mar da Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 61, 83255-976 Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil.
Rafael
R
Bet
Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo, Praça do Oceanográfico, 191, 05508-120 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Marcia C
MC
Bícego
Centro de Estudos do Mar da Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 61, 83255-976 Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil. Electronic address: ccmart@ufpr.br.
César C
CC
Martins
D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D001938:Brazil; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D012767:Ships; D013261:Sterols / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D006838:Hydrocarbons; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D013261:Sterols; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Hydrocarbons; Paranaguá Bay; Sediments; South Atlantic; Sterols