Spatio-temporal patterns of PAHs, PCBs and HCB in sediments of the western Barents Sea

• Main Authors: Agata Zaborska, Jolynn Carroll, Ksenia Pazdro, Janusz Pempkowiak
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2011
• Subjects: Arctic; Organic contaminants; POPs; Sediment accumulation; Oceanography; GC1-1581; Barents Sea
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/660b6643c9114dcaa75d5c179d92fe63

We examine the composition and levels of organic contaminants (PAHs, PCB, HCB) in four sediment cores collected from the Barents Sea.We assess the influence of temporal variations in contaminant supplies and post-depositional reworking on contaminant distribution. Anthropogeniclevels of ∑12 PAH reached 95 ng g -1 , higher inventories dominated by BKF were observed at southern stations, while northern stations exhibitedlower inventories with PHE as the dominant compound. The PCB composition was similar at all stations dominated by CB 101, 138 and 153. ∑7 PCBconcentrations were higher at northern stations. The observed composition and spatio-temporal pattern of organic contaminants is in accordance withlong-range transport supplies.