PAHs in the Fraser River basin: a critical appraisal of PAH ratios as indicators of PAH source and composition

The intent of this review is to provide an outline of the microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A catabolically diverse microbial community, consisting of bacteria, fungi and algae, metabolizes aromatic compounds. Molecular oxygen is essential for the initial hydroxylation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by microorganisms. In contrast to bacteria, filamentous fungi use hydroxylation as a prelude to detoxification rather than to catabolism and assimilation. The biochemical principles underlying the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are examined in some detail. The pathways of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon catabolism are discussed. Studies are presented on the relationship between the chemical structure of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and the rate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/30617/0000257.pdf?sequence=1

Lacustrine organic geochemistry—an overview of indicators of organic matter sources and diagenesis in lake sediments

Biomass burning — a review of organic tracers for smoke from incomplete combustion

http://projects.itn.pt/UCQR_QAA/Meyers_2003.pdf

Applications of organic geochemistry to paleolimnological reconstructions: a summary of examples from the Laurentian Great Lakes

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in three sections of a dated sediment core from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, have been analyzed by gas chromatographic spectrometry. This historical information suggests that sedimentary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, at least at this location, result primarily from the anthropogenic combustion of fossil fuels.

Sedimentary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: The Historical Record

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in an anoxic sediment core from the Pettaquamscutt River (Rhode Island, U.S.A.)

Tetra- and pentacyclic, naturally-occurring, aromatic hydrocarbons in recent sediments

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Marine/Aquatic Sediments: Their Ubiquity

A quantitative study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in marine/aquatic sediments was conducted. It was found that there are two transport modes responsible for the world-wide distribution of PAH: 1) resuspension and transport of contaminated sediments found near urban areas; and 2) long-range airborne transport of urban particulates. Data on the PAH concentration gradient in the Massachusetts Bay sediments and on the PAH content of Gulf of Maine basin sediments support the idea of sediment transport, data on the Nova Scotia soils, and the deep ocean support the concept of airborne transport. The details of these transport modes (such as their range) are not fully understood. Rather simplistic, Stoke's Law calculations can give a very approximate distance of transport but cannot be relied on without a more detailed knowledge of particle removal mechanisms. In fact, further developments in this area will require information on the input of specific PAH into the ocean via airborne prticulate matter.

Robert E. Laflamme

Papers

Sedimentary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: The Historical Record

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in an anoxic sediment core from the Pettaquamscutt River (Rhode Island, U.S.A.)

Tetra- and pentacyclic, naturally-occurring, aromatic hydrocarbons in recent sediments

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Marine/Aquatic Sediments: Their Ubiquity

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in marine/aquatic sediments