Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soils of the Moscow Region— Concentrations, Temporal Trends, and Small‐Scale Distribution

• Published in: Journal of Environmental Quality
• Main Authors: Wilcke, Wolfgang, Krauss, Martin, Safronov, Grigorij, Fokin, Alexej D., Kaupenjohann, Martin
• Other Authors: German Research Foundation
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2005
• Subjects: taiga
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/jeq2005.0005; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2134%2Fjeq2005.0005; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.2134/jeq2005.0005/fullpdf

ABSTRACT The knowledge of the environmental fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is restricted to few climatic regions of the world almost excluding the Taiga. Our objectives were to (i) separate anthropogenic from background contributions to PAH concentrations and (ii) determine temporal trends in PAH concentrations during the last century including the change in distribution of PAHs in interior and exterior portions of aggregates in soils of the Moscow region. Along a southeast‐bound transect from Moscow (windward in winter) and at a background location northeast of Moscow (leeward in winter), seven topsoil samples were collected in 1910–1954 and 35 in 1998–2003. We fractionated the soils in interior and exterior portions of aggregates > 10 mm and remaining soil without aggregates. The sum of 21 PAHs (Σ21PAHs) concentrations in recent bulk soil ranged from 59 to 1350 ng g −1 The concentrations of all PAHs were lower outside than in Moscow. The range of the concentrations of the Σ21PAHs in archived soil samples (159–1280 ng g −1 ) was similar as in recent soils. In most recent and archived samples, naphthalene and phenanthrene, were most abundant. The concentrations of low‐molecular‐weight PAHs decreased during the last century at most sites; those of high‐molecular‐weight compounds increased. The Σ21PAHs concentrations were accumulated in the exterior of aggregates (109%) and depleted in the interior (95%) relative to the concentration in bulk soil (defined as 100%), which was similar to that in the soil without aggregates (99%). The differences between aggregate interior and exterior did not change during the last century. The dominance of naphthalene and phenanthrene is typical of remote regions. The urban influence on PAH concentrations in the last century was small.