Tropical regions in developing countries are thought to be significant sources of organochlorine pesticides in the global context, owing to high rate of use and only a recent production ban or restriction on application of these pesticides. In the present paper, DDT and HCH in eight 210Pb-dated sedimentary cores from the Pearl River Delta, South China, were analyzed in order to reconstruct the time trends of these persistent organic pollutants in this tropical region. The sedimentary inventories of ∑DDT and ∑HCH through the cores ranged from 36.6 to 1109.5 ng/cm2 and from 11.2 to 226.3 ng/cm2, respectively, and their spatial distribution implies that the water flows from the Humen, Jiaomen, Hongqili, and Hengmen outlets rather than the Xijiang flow from Modaomen outlet, supplied the major historical input of DDT to the estuary. Although a production ban of technical HCH and DDT was imposed in China in 1983, their sedimentary fluxes display increasing trends or strong rebounds in the 1990s as recorded in t...

Sedimentary Records of DDT and HCH in the Pearl River Delta, South China

A review of pollutants in the sea-surface microlayer (SML): a unique habitat for marine organisms.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides in water columns from the Pearl River and the Macao harbor in the Pearl River Delta in South China

Spatial and temporal distribution of dissolved/dispersed aromatic hydrocarbons in seawater in the area affected by the Prestige oil spill.

Phase association of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Minjiang River Estuary, China.

Occurrence and transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the water bodies of the Baltic Sea

The impact of salt water inflows on the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the deep water of the Baltic Sea

The consequences of the Oder flood in 1997 on the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Oder River Estuary

Within the framework of the Baltic Monitoring Programme (BMP) of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), four research cruises were carried out in the Baltic Sea from 1992 to 1994. They were aimed at investigating the regional and seasonal distribution of petroleum hydrocarbons in Baltic Sea water. Measurements were made of the total concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) and, additionally, of the regional and seasonal distribution of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in Baltic Sea water.

Gesine Witt

Papers

Occurrence and transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the water bodies of the Baltic Sea

The impact of salt water inflows on the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the deep water of the Baltic Sea

The consequences of the Oder flood in 1997 on the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Oder River Estuary

Distribution of petroleum hydrocarbons in Baltic Sea water, 1992–1994