Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sea sediments of the Turkish Mediterranean coast, composition and sources

The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in 25 surface sediment samples from five sites located at Oludeniz Lagoon of the Turkish Mediterranean coast. The total concentration of the PAHs (1.85 ± 1.39 mg/kg) was lower than the sediments from highly urbanized areas, while it was comparable with the sediments from similar locations. Acenaphthene and chrysene were dominant ones with the concentrations of 0.620 and 0.515 mg/kg, respectively. The isomeric ratios indicated that combustion is the predominant source of PAHs in the sediments. Factor analysis solution supports the same finding with three major factors accounting for 71.7 % of the variability in the data. Factor 1 with 43.4 % of the total variance identified as a pyrogenic source (coal combustion; 4 rings PAH and traffic related pollution; 5–6 rings PAHs). Factor 2 (explains 39 % of the total variance) represents PAHs originating from traffic, and factor 3 (explains 12 % of the total variance) represents petrogenic source. Our results suggest that combustion of fossil fuels affects most of the points, followed by combustion of biomass and human activity.