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Effect of water flux and sediment discharge of the Yangtze River on PAHs sedimentation in the estuary

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Abstract

Historical distribution characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their carriers (i.e., organic matter and mineral particles) in the sediment cores of the Yangtze Estuary were investigated, with emphasis laid on the role of the Yangtze River. Grain size component of sediments (clay, silt, and sand) and organic carbon (black carbon and total organic carbon) in the sediment cores were markedly affected by water flux and sediment discharge of the Yangtze River. Qualitative and quantitative analysis results showed that sands and black carbon acted as the main carriers of PAHs. The sedimentation of two-ring to three-ring PAHs in the estuary had significant correlations with water flux and sediment discharge of the Yangtze River. The relative lower level of the four-ring and five-ring to six-ring PAHs concentrations appeared around the year 2003 and remained for the following several years. This time period accorded well with the water impoundment time of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The decreased level of two-ring to three-ring PAHs occurred in the year 1994, and the peak points around the year 2009 indicated that PAHs sedimentation in the estuary also had close relationship to severe drought and flood in the catchments. The findings presented in this paper could provide references for assessing the impacts of water flux and sediment discharge on the historical deposition of PAHs and their carriers in the Yangtze Estuary.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2010CB429003) and Beijing Higher Education Yong Elite Teacher Project (YETP0235).

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  1. Key Laboratory for Water and Sediment Science of Ministry of Education, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Rufeng Li, Chenghong Feng, Dongxin Wang, Maozhi He, Lijuan Hu & Zhenyao Shen

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  1. Rufeng Li
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  2. Chenghong Feng
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Correspondence to Chenghong Feng.

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Li, R., Feng, C., Wang, D. et al. Effect of water flux and sediment discharge of the Yangtze River on PAHs sedimentation in the estuary. Environ Monit Assess 189, 10 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5729-x

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