Under the framework of the IAEA's Technical Co-operation project RAF7/004, international research cruises were carried out in 2004 to assess the distribution of radionuclides and micropollutants in the south-western Mediterranean Sea. Sediments samples had variable concentrations of total aliphatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ranging from 0.2 to 1.8 microg g(-1) and 26.9 to 364.4 ng g(-1), respectively, in the Sicily Channel and from 0.7 to 2.8 microg g(-1) and 14.7 to 618.1 ng g(-1), respectively, in the open sea of the Gulf of Tunis. Hydrocarbon concentrations changed with depth and were relatively high at 3 cm and 10 cm depths. The use of 'fingerprint' ratios of certain isomeric pairs of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and the proportion of 2-3 ring and 4-5 ring PAH concentrations showed that the main origins are characteristic of petroleum sources. The ranges of trace metal concentrations, expressed in microgg(-1), in the Sicily Channel and in the Gulf of Tunis, respectively, were: Hg 0.009-0.2 and 0.02-0.1; Pb 9.9-26.1 and 21.2-32.5; Cd 0.06-0.1 and 0.07-0.33; Fe 23.7-28.1 and 29.9-36.2p; Zn 83-99.5 and 83-104; Mn 309.2-752.5 and 651-814; Cu 17.1-18.5 and 33.5-51.3. Sediment metal abundances were in the order: Mn > Zn > Fe > Cu > Pb > Cd > Hg. The results showed significant differences (p < 0.001) for trace metal and hydrocarbon mean concentrations between the two cores. These concentrations are generally similar to the background levels from the Mediterranean Sea and could be affected by physico-chemical conditions and sedimentation rate as well as biodegradation.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2010.483598 | DOI Listing |
Environ Pollut
January 2025
The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, UK; Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address:
This work is the first comprehensive survey of the Yangtze River, covering its origin to the estuary mouth. It focuses on the geographical and industrial factors influencing the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments, along with their contamination levels, sources, and ecological risks. The total concentrations of PAHs ranged from 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
January 2025
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
The toxic fume emitted from asphalt pavement remains a health and environmental hazard towards public safety, especially the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Despite extensive studies focused on characterizing asphalt fumes generated during construction stages (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntegr Environ Assess Manag
January 2025
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, United States.
This study evaluated a novel ex situ passive sampling biomimetic extraction (BE) method to estimate toxic potency in sediments. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) analysis of polydimethylsiloxane fibers equilibrated with field sediments was used to quantify bioavailable polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other unresolved, site-specific contaminant mixtures. This method is biomimetic because contaminants partition to the fiber based on hydrophobicity and abundance, and GC-FID quantification accounts for all constituents absorbed to the fiber that may contribute to toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrg Lett
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Eco-functional Polymer Materials of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, P. R. China.
A palladium-catalyzed Catellani-type [2+2+2] annulation reaction of aryl iodides, bromothiophenes, and norbornadiene, which proceeds via a tandem Heck coupling/double C-H bond activation and retro-Diels-Alder pathway to access thiophene-fused polyaromatics, is reported. The key feature of this protocol represents a NBD/NBE retaining annulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrolife
January 2025
Environmental Metagenomics, Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany.
Oil reservoirs are society's primary source of hydrocarbons. While microbial communities in industrially exploited oil reservoirs have been investigated in the past, pristine microbial communities in untapped oil reservoirs are little explored, as are distribution patterns of respective genetic signatures. Here, we show that a pristine oil sample contains a complex community consisting of bacteria and fungi for the degradation of hydrocarbons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!