Fecal sterols (coprostanol and epicoprostanol) and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) are e cient geochemical markers of sewage input in marine environment because they present stability and resistance to degradation processes. e Antarctic region is considered one of the best preserved environments in the world, however the discharge of sewage directly into the marine environments around scienti c stations has resulted in changes in this pristine site. In order to assess the distribution and concentration of sewage indicators from Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Antarctic Station, sediments were sampled during the 2009/10 austral summer at four points: (1) Refuge II (Mackelar Inlet), (2) Ferraz, (3) Ulmann and (4) Botany Point (Martel Inlet) at depths around of 20 until 30 m. e organic markers were determined by gas chromatography with ame ionization (GC-FID) and mass spectrometer detectors (GC-MS). Concentrations of fecal sterols and LABs ranged from <0.01 to 0.17 μg g −1 and <1.0 to 46.5 ng g −1 dry weight, respectively. In general, the higher concentrations were found only locally in the vicinity of Ferraz Station at Martel Inlet. e maximum concentration to fecal sterols was close to the value previously calculated as background level for Martel Inlet (0.19 μg g −1) and it was lower than the concentration found in the same points during the austral summer of 2003/04 (0.93 μg g −1) while for the LABs, the concentration remained practically constant (35 ng g-1). Despite low concentrations of sewage organic markers, monitoring programs are required to determine continuing trends and prevent the increase of anthropogenic impacts.
Steroids are efficient geochemical markers of natural and anthropogenic environmental events, because they present stability and resistance to the degradation process, keeping a record of their signature origin, allowing interpretations about the organic matter sources. The Antarctic region is considered one of the best preserved environments in the world; however human activities have resulted in changes in this pristine location. Sampling was collected during the 2006/07 austral summer at three points: Refuge II (REF) (Mackelar Inlet), Thomas Point (PTH) and Barrel Point (BAR) (Ezcurra Inlet). After Soxhlet extraction, clean up using adsorption column and derivatization, steroids concentrations were determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Concentrations of fecal sterols (coprostanol and epicoprostanol) in all locations studied were <0.10 µg.g-1 , suggesting natural contributions of these compounds. This statement is corroborated by values found for the coprostanol/epicoprostanol ratio for all cores (<2.50). Based on these results, background values were established for the analyzed compounds in the two studied inlets. The values for REF, PTH and BAR were, respectively, (0.06 ± 0.02), (0.04 ± 0.03) and (0.03 ± 0.01) for coprostanol + epicoprostanol.
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