Effects of physical mixing on the attenuation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in estuarine sediments

To examine the role of physical disturbance on the long-term preservation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments, cores were collected from two sites removed from point sources of PAHs and representing contrasting seabed mixing regimes. Although ΣPAH concentrations in sediments over the past 50 years were not significantly different between the two sites, several PAH isomer ratios were significantly different (P<0.05) between the two sites. Downcore changes in PAH isomer ratios resulted from preferential losses of the more linear PAH isomers. Thus, episodic, intense seabed mixing contributes to more efficient removal of selected PAHs. However, PAHs are still sufficiently stable relative to mixing events that historical PAH profiles can be used to reconstruct major resuspension events.