Abstract
This research deals with oil contamination of the surface sediments of the various sites in the southwest of the Mediterranean Sea distributed over the coastal region of Bizerte (depth: 0–20 m), northern Tunisia. This work was carried out according to a geochemical approach combining the sedigraph method, gravimetric analyzes, rock–eval pyrolysis, and chromatographic techniques based on molecular biomarkers (n-alkanes, steranes, terpanes, and hopanes). This approach made it possible to highlight the substantial contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons and, in particular, by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of the surface sediments (0–25 cm) of the Bay of Bizerte (∑PAHs: 1539.24 ng/g. dry sed). In addition, it also indicates an anthropogenic crude origin and a state of biodegradation for all the oils, the bases of organic materials (terrestrial, lake, and marine origin), and different responsible sources (maritime traffic for the contamination of northeastern Tunisia).
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Belhadj, C., Mohamed, A.B., Rebai, N. (2023). Forensic Fingerprinting of Biomarkers for the Geochemical Characterization of Oil Spills and Soil Contamination in the Coastal Area of Bizerte, Tunisia. In: Çiner, A., et al. Recent Research on Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Paleontology, Tectonics, Geochemistry, Volcanology and Petroleum Geology . MedGU 2021. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43222-4_34
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43222-4_34
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