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Hydrocarbons in the modern sediments of the Caspian Sea

  • Water Quality and Protection: Environmental Aspects
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Abstract

The presented results have been obtained in a study of the concentrations and composition of aliphatic and polycyclic hydrocarbons in bottom sediments of Volga delta branches and in its shallow zone (2009–2010), as well as the Caspian Sea proper (2010–2013). Oil hydrocarbon pollution has been found to manifest itself mostly in Volga delta branches, which, despite the low concentrations (up to 54.5 μg/g), showed higher hydrocarbons share in Corg (up to 33.8%), while the composition of alkanes suggested their oil genesis. The geochemical barrier the Volga–the Caspian Sea prevents anthropogenic hydrocarbons from entering the open parts of the Caspian. Bottom sediments in the shallow zone of the Northern Caspian, represented by coarse-grained material, are now polluted by oil hydrocarbons to a lesser extent compared with other areas. The highest concentrations of aliphatic hydrocarbons (up to 178 μg/g) were recorded in the deepsea bottom sediments of Derbent Depression and in depressions of the Middle and Southern Caspian. These areas show a higher concentration of Corg (up to 9.884%) and a low concentration of hydrocarbons in Corg (up to 0.16%), while odd high-molecular homologues (n-C25–C31) dominate in the composition of alkanes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Nakhimovskii prosp. 36, Moscow, 117997, Russia

    I. A. Nemirovskaya

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  1. I. A. Nemirovskaya
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Correspondence to I. A. Nemirovskaya.

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Original Russian Text © I.A. Nemirovskaya, 2016, published in Vodnye Resursy, 2016, Vol. 43, No. 1, pp. 60–69.

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Nemirovskaya, I.A. Hydrocarbons in the modern sediments of the Caspian Sea. Water Resour 43, 111–120 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S009780781506007X

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S009780781506007X

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