Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments of the Yellow Sea

Abstract

Surface sediment samples collected from the eastern half of the Yellow Sea proper in 1998 were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ubiquitous pollutants. Total PAHs concentrations varied from 1.0 to 320.5 ng g-1 dw. Relatively high concentrations of PAHs were found in the muddy central part of the Yellow Sea. Sedimentary total PAHs concentrations in the Yellow Sea proper were similar to those of Californian offshores and the central Mediterranean Sea, albeit an order of magnitude lower than the Yellow Sea nearshore areas. Phenanthrene/Anthracene concentration ratio of PAHs in bottom sediments suggested that pyrolytic PAHs might be dominant over petrogenic ones in the eastern Yellow Sea. Downcore depth distributions of PAHs from the relatively undisturbed core samples of the central Yellow Sea showed decreasing PAHs concentrations with core depths and suggested that the Yellow Sea has been increasingly exposed to PAH for decades. Annual total PAH flux to these sediments was estimated to be 166 μgm-2yr-1 in the central part of the Yellow Sea for the recent decade.