Spatial distribution and source apportionment of PAHs in marine surface sediments of Prydz Bay, East Antarctica

Abstract

This paper reports the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine sediments sampled from Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. Total PAH concentrations ranged from 12.95 to 30.93 ng/g, with a mean of 17.99 ± 5.57 ng/g. Two- and three-ring PAHs were the most abundant compounds found at the majority of the sampling stations of Prydz Bay. Long-range atmospheric transportation was found to play an important role in determining the spatial distribution of PAHs in the sediments sampled here. However, transport by ocean currents and release from melting glaciers were also found to influence PAH distributions in the sediments of East Antarctica. The vertical migration of PAHs in sediments showed a decreasing trend with depth, with higher concentrations in the relatively shallow-water regions (<500 m) found on the Fram and Four Ladies banks compared with those of the intermediate-depth (500-1000 m) and deep-water regions (>1000 m) of the Amery Basin and associated Canyons, respectively. A Pearson correlation analysis between PAH concentrations and sediment parameters demonstrated that PAHs has poor correlations with grain size, but has positive correlation with total organic carbon, indicated complex processing during transfer to remote environments. The results of qualitative and quantitative analyses indicate that the PAHs sampled here were derived mainly from a mixture of biomass combustion, traffic emissions, and petrogenic sources.

Keywords: Antarctica; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Source apportionment; Surface sediments.