Historical Records and Source Apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Over the Past 100 Years in Dianchi Lake, a Plateau Lake in Southwest China

Abstract

Two sediment cores were collected from Dianchi Lake, a plateau lake in Southwest China, to study the temporal trends and to investigate the sources of sedimentary deposited polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. The ΣPAH16 concentration in the two sediment cores ranged from 172.5 to 2244.8 ng/g and from 211.4 to 1777.8 ng/g, with mean values of 1106.2 and 865.1 ng/g, respectively. Three temporal trends for the ΣPAH16 concentration and the composition of PAHs in Dianchi Lake all showed three typical changing stages: (1) slight changes in deeper segments before the 1950s; (2) a rapid increase in PAH concentrations between the 1960s and 1990s; and (3) a slight reduction from the 1990s onward. These trends differ from those observed in developed countries due to differences in the timing of industrialization and urbanization processes. According to the results of the molecular ratios and principal component analysis, the PAH deposition was dominated by coal combustion, wood combustion, and vehicle emissions before and after the 1960s, respectively.

Trends in the impact of socioeconomic developments on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in Dianchi Lake

“…The γ-rays were emitted by the daughter isotope, 210Pb, which was stored for 3 weeks prior to dating in airtight containers to enable radioactive equilibration. Unsupported 210Pb (210Pbex) was estimated as the difference between the total 210Pb, measured at 46.5 keV, and the supported 210Pb activity [210Pbex = 210Pbtot -214Pb], determined using the parent nuclide at 351 keV (Ma et al 2018(Ma et al , 2020.…”

“…Detailed descriptions of the methods used for extracting and cleaning of samples and determining PAH concentrations are provided in our previous studies (Ma et al 2018;Ma et al 2020;Zhang et al 2017).…”

One-century sedimentary record, sources, and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Dianchi Lake, China

“…Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that exist in different environmental media (Gregg et al, 2015;Lu et al, 2012;Sandro et al, 2018;Walker et al, 2005). PAHs can originate from natural processes such as forest res (Freeman and Catell 1990;Ma et al, 2020), volcanic eruptions (Kim et al, 2003;Morillo et al, 2007;Ma et al, 2018), and diagenesis of organic matter in oxygen-de cient sediments (Baumard et al, 1998; Van et al, 2000). However, human activities such as garbage incineration (Mastral and Callén, 2000), fossil fuel combustion (Blumer and Youngblood, 1975;Ma et al, 2021b), and wood burning for household heating and cooking (Lima et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2007) are generally considered to be the main source of PAHs entering the environment (Viguri et al, 2002).…”

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) In The Upstream Rivers of Taihu Lake Basin, China: Spatial Distribution, Sources And Environmental Risk

“…PAHs can enter the aquatic environments by atmospheric deposition, surface runoff, oil leakage, and waste water discharge (Hu et al 2017). Due to their low water solubility, high lipid solubility and high persistence, PAHs have the propensity to adhere to sediment of water bodies, which ultimately pose considerable threats to ecosystem and human health through the biomagnify in the food chain (Geffard et al 2003, Humans 2010, Ma et al 2018). 16 PAHs have been identi ed as the priority pollutants in control by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA) (E. Manoli 2000), and 7 of them represent potential carcinogenicity (Zheng et al 2016), which cause both ecological and health risks (Kim et al 2013, Sarria-Villa et al 2016).…”