Contribution of settling measurements to the study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons' (PAHs) mobilisation during resuspension of PAHs-associated sediment.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of the settling behaviour of sediment particles during resuspension on the mobilisation of pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sediments were collected in different areas (basin, channel, beach) of a Mediterranean harbour, located in the south of France (the Grau du Roi harbour), and then separated into different size fractions: large (80-1000 μm), intermediate (40-80 μm), and fine (< 40 μm). Total PAHs concentrations in the initial sediment ranged from 320 to 1043 μg kg.