Abstract
This study assessed the concentrations and sources of natural and anthropogenic aliphatic (AHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in superficial sediments collected along the Patos Lagoon estuary and in sediment cores obtained from the Cassino Beach mud bank. Levels and distribution of n-alkanes indicate terrestrial sources, overlapping with a low amount of petrogenic hydrocarbons (heavy oils). Unresolved complex mixture (UCM) was observed in all samples. On the other hand, the distribution of PAHs in the sediments showed a predominance of pyrolytic over petrogenic sources. In general, hydrocarbons (HCs) contamination in the Patos Lagoon estuary and its adjacent coastal area can be considered low, except for sites near urban or industrial effluents, where moderate to high levels of contamination were found. Concentrations of hydrocarbons were homogeneous throughout the sediment cores, suggesting that mixing processes may have occurred along the layers or that HCs inputs to the mud banks were uniform during the studied deposition period. In addition, the levels and profile of HCs in the coastal sediments were similar to those observed in the estuary. Moreover, the frequent remobilization of sediments from the mud bank towards Cassino beach does not seem to pose any threats to the local biota or beach users since the levels of contamination were relatively low and below the threshold limits of sediment quality guidelines.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. Lauro Júlio Calliari (FURG, Brazil, in memorian) for access to the sediment core samples.
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Patricia Neves (MSc grant 133350/2007–0) and Gilberto Fillmann (PQ 312341/2013–0 and 314202/2018–8) were sponsored by CNPq (Brazilian National Research Council). The authors are also grateful to Petrobras for the financial support (Contract No 650.2.386.03.5).
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PAN: conceptualization, sample collection, analysis, writing the first draft; PGC: analysis, review, editing; LCP: sample collection, analysis, review, editing; MRG: sample collection, review, editing; GF: conceptualization, funding, review, editing.
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Neves, P.A., Costa, P.G., Portz, L.C. et al. Levels and sources of hydrocarbons in the Patos Lagoon estuary and Cassino Beach mud bank (South Atlantic, Brazil): evidence of transference between environments. Environ Monit Assess 195, 484 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11074-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11074-3