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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from Diffuse Sources in Coastal Sediments of a Not Industrialised Mediterranean Island

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Abstract

Ustica is an island relatively far from continental, industrial and urban settlements and it has been designated as a marine protected area with the aim of preserving the natural diversity of flora and fauna of the surrounding sea. In such an environment, the assessment of the levels and origin of persistent organic pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can shed light on the mechanisms and effects of pollutant long-distance transport in the western Mediterranean Sea. PAHs concentrations resulted relatively low when compared with those of other coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea. The low values of the ratio between low- and high-molecular-weight (LMW and HMW, respectively) PAHs and the fluoranthene and pyrene ratios underlined a pyrolytic origin of these contaminants. The prevalence of HMW-PAHs, however, may also be due to the effect of LMW-PAH preferential degradation during transport and burial into sediments. On the other hand, petrogenic sources prevailed in the past. Whilst PAHs concentrations showed a recent increase, especially at the site close to the port, the estimated sedimentary fluxes of PAHs ranged from 0.5 to 25 μg m−2 year−1.

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Acknowledgements

The research was realised with the financial support of the Natural Marine Reserve of the island of Ustica. The authors wish to thank Fabio Savelli, V. Zangrando and G. Franceschini for the technical and graphic assistance and the crew of R/V Astrea for the assistance during sampling.

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Author notes

  1. Michele Giani

    Present address: Department of Biological Oceanography, Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Applicata, via Auguste Piccard, 34100, Trieste, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Loc. Brondolo, 30015, Chioggia, Venice, Italy

    Daniela Berto, Federica Cacciatore & Michele Giani

  2. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Via di Casalotti 300, 00166, Rome, Italy

    Antonella Ausili

  3. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Via Emerico Amari 124, 90134, Palermo, Italy

    Giuseppe Sunseri

  4. Istituto di Scienze Marine (ISMAR), Sede di Bologna, Via Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy

    Luca G. Bellucci, Mauro Frignani & Sonia Albertazzi

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  1. Daniela Berto
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Correspondence to Daniela Berto.

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Berto, D., Cacciatore, F., Ausili, A. et al. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from Diffuse Sources in Coastal Sediments of a Not Industrialised Mediterranean Island. Water Air Soil Pollut 200, 199–209 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-008-9904-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-008-9904-8

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