Sources of hydrocarbons and fatty acids in sediment from Hor Al-Hammar marsh, Shatt Al-Arab, and North-West Arabian Gulf

Abstract

Sediment samples taken from different locations of Hor Al-Hammar marsh, Shatt Al-Arab estuary and North-West Arabian Gulf, were analysed to determine origins and sources of hydrocarbons and fatty acids. In Hor Al-Hammar there are two different sources: one from phytoplankton and zooplankton and the other from aquatic plants dominant in the region. These are characterized by carbon numbers such as C19, C25, C27 for hydrocarbons and C16, C18 for fatty acids. The same patterns were observed in the Shatt Al-Arab estuary, while in the North-West Arabian Gulf, odd and even carbon numbers were observed; these came from different sources such as phytoplankton, especially diatoms, zooplankton, bacteria, and fungi. The input of terrigenous material such as wax of aquatic plants is missing in this area. Transportation from Shatt Al-Arab and Khor Al-Zubair was another source of higher molecular weight compounds to the North-West Arabian Gulf.