Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in the coastal New Jersey atmosphere as part of the New Jersey Atmospheric Deposition Network (NJADN). PAH results from the first year of atmospheric sampling (Oct 1997−Oct 1998) at a suburban site near New Brunswick, NJ and a coastal site at Sandy Hook, NJ are presented. PAHs (36) were analyzed at both sites including phenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene whose concentrations ranged from 0.74 to 20.9 ng/m3 and 0.0020 to 0.62 ng/m3, respectively. PAH concentrations at the suburban site were 2× higher than concentrations measured at the coastal site, consistent with the closer proximity of NB to urban/industrial regions than SH. The seasonal trends of particulate PAH concentrations indicate that PAH sources such as fuel consumption for domestic heating and vehicular traffic drive their seasonal occur rence. While gaseous concentrations of methylated phenanthrenes and pyrene were higher during the winter and similar to high molecular weight PAHs, phenanthrene and fluoranthene show the opposite seasonal trend with concentrations peaking in the summer months. Because temperature accounted for less than 25% of the variability in atmospheric concentrations, seasonal variability could not be attributed to temperature-controlled air-surface exchange. PAH concentrations in the New Jersey coastal atmosphere indicate the importance of local and regional sources originating from urban/industrial areas to the N, NE, and to the SW.

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, n = 36) were measured in the gas and particle phases in the atmosphere and the dissolved and particle phases in the waters of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary, USA, during a weeklong intensive field campaign in July 1998. Mean total (gas + particulate) phenanthrene and pyrene concentrations were 3.3 and 0.33 ng/m3, respectively, over Raritan Bay, and 14 and 1.1 ng/ml, respectively, over New York Harbor. Similar PAH profiles (p values < 0.01) in the atmospheric gas phase and the dissolved phase in water demonstrate the close coupling of the air and water compartments. Air-water exchange fluxes of PAHs estimated using shore-based air data lead to erroneous flux estimates when compared to those derived using over-water air samples. The gross absorptive air-water flux dominates atmospheric loadings (wet, dry particle, gas absorption) to the estuary for PAHs of molecular weight < 234 g/mol. Dry particle deposition is increasingly more important for the higher-molecular-weight, particle-bound PAH species. Gross volatilization dominates gross absorption for the majority of PAHs in the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary.

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