Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in marine sediments near Kitimat, British Columbia

摘要: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), like many other hydrophobic organic contaminants, are rapidly sorbed to particles and incorporated within sediments in aquatic systems. The PAH composition the reflects source(s) from which PAHs were derived. However, ``source signature`` may be altered by postdepositional weathering or biodegradation. In present study, variation was investigated size-fractionated depth-fractionated collected a Canadian fjord contaminated with aluminum smelter derived PAHs. Multivariate analyses of compositional data consistently showed that different sampling sites could discriminated on basis their composition, but smaller versus larger size fractions site not. unsubstituted alkyl-substituted sediment core primarily changes depth attributable enhancement anthropogenic inputs upper segments. No trends depth, associated compound-specific biotransformation, noted anthropogenically generated This indicate limited chemical biological availability