Hydrocarbon geochemistry of the Puget Sound region—III. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments

• Published in: Estuarine, coastal and shelf science Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 175 - 191
• Main Authors: Barrick, Robert C., Prahl, Fredrick G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.08.1987
• Subjects: distribution; hydrocarbons; Puget Sound; sediment cores; sediment cores; Puget Sound; distribution; hydrocarbons
• ISSN: 0272-7714; 1096-0015
• DOI: 10.1016/0272-7714(87)90121-1

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) distributions and sources are characterized in 96 sediment samples from 24 210Pb-dated cores collected at locations in the greater Puget Sound. The highest PAH concentrations are found within a few kilometers of several sources including industrial facilities in northern Puget Sound, urban areas in central Puget Sound, and river systems draining coal-bearing strata. Regional patterns of combustion-derived PAH in surficial sediments indicate little atmospheric or waterborne exchange of PAH between different regions of the Sound. Significant subsurface maxima in combustion-derived PAH concentrations ( 210Pb dated at the 1950s) occur only in sediment cores collected near urban centers. Perylene apparently derives from erosion of a terrestrial source with little or no evidence of in situ production at depth in sediment cores. Coal fragments are carriers of a characteristic suite of alkylated phenanthrene, chrysene, and picene derivatives concentrated near river mouths in central and southern Puget Sound.