DISTRIBUTION AND SOURCES OF PAHS IN SURFACE SEDIMENTS OF SHANTOU MANGROVE WETLANDS, CHINA.

To determine the sources and the degree of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contamination and the ability of different mangrove wetlands to accumulate PAHs, the concentrations of total and 16 individual PAH compounds were analyzed in 14 surface sediments collected from 3 coastal mangrove wetlands located in a Wetland Demonstration Site in Shantou, China. Total PAH concentrations in the sediments ranged from 57 to 238 ng g^-1 dry weight. The PAH profiles were similar among the 3 mangrove wetlands, and dominated by phenanthrene (3-ring), fluoranthene (4-ring), pyrene (4-ring) and benzo(k)fluoranthene (5-ring). Total PAH concentrations in the 3 mangrove sediments were in the order of mangrove inner> mangrove edge > low tidal mudflat, except for the Yifeng estuarine mangrove. PAH isomer ratios, such as fluoranthene/ (fluoranthene +phenanthrene), indeno (1,2,3-cd) pyrene / (indeno (1,2,3-cd) pyrene + benzo (g,h,i) perylene) were used to identify potential sources of PAH contamination in the 3 mangrove sediments, and the results suggested that they were generally more of pyrolytic than of petrogenic origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]