Inferring sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments from the western Taiwan Strait through end-member mixing analysis

Li, Tao; Sun, Guihua; Ma, Shengzhong; Liang, Kai; Yang, Chupeng; Li, Bo; Luo, Weidong

Inferring sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments from the western Taiwan Strait through end-member mixing analysis

2016

Concentration, spatial distribution, composition and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated based on measurements of 16 PAH compounds in surface sediments of the western Taiwan Strait. Total PAH concentrations ranged from 2.41 to 218.54ngg−1. Cluster analysis identified three site clusters representing the northern, central and southern regions. Sedimentary PAHs mainly originated from a mixture of pyrolytic and petrogenic in the north, from pyrolytic in the central, and from petrogenic in the south. An end-member mixing model was performed using PAH compound data to estimate mixing proportions for unknown end-members (i.e., extreme-value sample points) proposed by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the analyzed samples can be expressed as mixtures of three end-members, and the mixing of different end-members was strongly related to the transport pathway controlled by two currents, which alternately prevail in the Taiwan Strait during different seasons.

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