Fractioning of petroleum hydrocarbons from seeped oil as a factor of purity preservation of water in Lake Baikal (Russia)

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes were found in five different types of oil-containing samples emanating from deep oil seeps in Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake in the world containing 20% of the world’s surface freshwater. The n-alkanes were the dominant component of the seeped oil on the water surface. PAHs were minor compounds of the oil, but this group is included in a priority series of organic contaminants that are subject to environmental regulation. The set of studied samples from the seep included: (i) freshly-emitted oil on the lake surface, (ii) oil at the lake bottom, (iii) samples of asphalt towers at the lake bottom, (iv) oil from voids within the sediment core and (v) samples of water from different depths. High variability in the concentrations of n-alkanes and PAHs suggested the presence of oil fractionation at the sediment-water interface. A light fraction of oil enriched by n-alkanes migrates to the surface of the lake’s water column, where n-alkanes are biodegraded by the Baikal microbial community while heavy oil fractions remain at the lake bottom and form asphalt towers in which PAHs with maximum toxicity accumulate. In the lake’s photic water layer, PAHs from light oil can be accumulated by phytoplankton. In the lake’s water column, benzo[a]pyrene was not detected over their detection limit (0.1 ng/L). The Toxic Equivalent (TEQ) value of PAHs identified in the Baikal water ranged from 0.001 to 0.012 ng/L.