Relationship Between Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Pelagic Tar in the Mediterranean Sea, 1974–75

During the winter of 1974–75, both tar and aromatic hydrocarbons were sampled in the Mediterranean Sea. A detailed report of the tar findings were given in a previous paper (Morris et al. , 1975). Aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations at a depth of 1 m averaged 167 ng/1 (expressed as phenanthrene equi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Conservation
Main Authors: Zsolnay, Adam, Morris, Byron F., Butler, James N.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1978
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900006354
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892900006354
Description
Summary:During the winter of 1974–75, both tar and aromatic hydrocarbons were sampled in the Mediterranean Sea. A detailed report of the tar findings were given in a previous paper (Morris et al. , 1975). Aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations at a depth of 1 m averaged 167 ng/1 (expressed as phenanthrene equivalents). This is only about 60% as great as the average aromatic hydrocarbon concentration found in the Baltic Sea, but is 5 times greater than what was found in the north-west Atlantic—including the Sargasso Sea (Zsolnay, 1977). No relationship was found between tar and aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations. This would indicate that the concentration of the latter is dependent upon other factors—such as the presence of other organic compounds that are capable of keeping the hydrophobic hydrocarbons in the water column by ‘solubilization.’