Distribution And Sources Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Surface Sediments Of The Suez Gulf

Abstract

Suez Gulf is an area of environmental interest due to tourism, Suez port, Safaga Port, El-Sukhna new port, shipping activity, petroleum production, and industry activities. Twenty two sediment samples, collected from the coastal area of Suez Gulf, were analyzed for the spatial distribution and sources of aliphatic (n-alkanes and unresolved complex mixture of fossil hydrocarbons) and 16 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Total concentrations of the 16 EPA-PAH studied in the sediments ranged from 158 to 10463 ng g−1with a mean value of 234 ng g−1dry sediments. The total concentrations varied from 0.52 to 88.38 ng g−1for aliphatic hydrocarbons, from 148 to 8824 ng g−1for ∑PAHCARC, from 0.5 to 81.7 ng g−1for ∑C12–C40. The highest concentrations of total PAHs were recorded for stations near the Ras Shukeir and Suez cities. Interferences of rather petrogenic and pyrolytic PAH contaminations were noticed in different locations in Suez Gulf due to petroleum products deliveries and production as well as fuel combustion emissions from cars and ships. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were used to determine the sources of hydrocarbon pollutants in sediments of Suez Gulf. Anthropogenic hydrocarbon inputs were more apparent at sites associated with industrial discharges (petroleum distributor and refinery), shipping activities (dry docking), and sewage outfalls (sewage).