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Distribution and origins of n-alkanes, hopanes, and steranes in rivers and marine sediments from Southwest Caspian coast, Iran: implications for identifying petroleum hydrocarbon inputs

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Abstract

The occurrence of n-alkanes and biomarkers (hopane and sterane) in surface sediments from Southwestern coasts of Caspian Sea and 28 rivers arriving to this lake, determined with a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method, was used to assess the impacts of anthropogenic activities in the studied area. The concentrations of total n-alkanes (Σ21 n-alkane) in costal and riverine sediments varied from 249.2 to 3899.5 and 56 to 1622.4 μg g−1, respectively. An evaluation of the source diagnostic indices indicated that petroleum related sources (petrogenic) were mainly contributed to n-alkanes in costal and most riverine sediments. Only the hydrocarbons in sediment of 3 rivers were found to be mainly of biogenic origin. Principal component analysis using hopane diagnostic ratios in costal and riverine sediments, and Anzali, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan oils were used to identify the sources of hydrocarbons in sediments. It was indicated that the anthropogenic contributions in most of the costal sediment samples are dominated with inputs of oil spills from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan countries.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Iran, who provided partial funding for this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Science, Tarbiat Modares University, P.O. Box 46414-356, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran

    Golshan Shirneshan & Alireza Riyahi Bakhtiari

  2. Geosciences division of Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, Tehran, Iran

    Mahmoud Memariani

Authors
  1. Golshan Shirneshan
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  2. Alireza Riyahi Bakhtiari
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  3. Mahmoud Memariani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alireza Riyahi Bakhtiari.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Ester Heath

Highlights

• Identifying petrogenic source in sediments from southwest Caspian coast.

• Comparing diagnostic ratios of sediments with reference oils by using PCA.

• Suggesting Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan oils as the source of the costal sediment.

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Shirneshan, G., Bakhtiari, A.R. & Memariani, M. Distribution and origins of n-alkanes, hopanes, and steranes in rivers and marine sediments from Southwest Caspian coast, Iran: implications for identifying petroleum hydrocarbon inputs. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 17484–17495 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6825-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6825-8

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