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Source Characterization and Historical Trend of Sedimentary PAHs from Refome Lake, South–South Nigeria

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) released from diverse sources passing through water column carry information into the sediment where they can be used to assess the environmental status of an ecosystem over specified geologic time frame. The vertical distributions of PAHs in two recent sediment cores (RS and RC, 30 cm long) from Refome Lake, South–South Nigeria, were investigated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry in order to evaluate their sources and historical trends of deposition over the last ca. century. The total PAHs (TPAHs—sum of parent and retene) concentrations ranged from 66.99 ng/g dry weight (dw) at the middle layer of RC core (RC3 10–15 cm) to 182.24 ng/g dw at the near-bottom layer of RS core (RS5 20–25 cm) with a mean of 102.21 ± 24.32 ng/g. The elevated TPAH level at the near-bottom layer of the RS core, corresponding to geologic time-frame ca. 1930–1947, coincided with the period of inhabitation of the European settlers along the lake’s catchments when utilization of coal and/or coal products for domestic/recreational activity was at its peak. A decline in TPAH levels up-cores thereafter reflected the periods of gradual evacuation of inhabitants of the lake area hinterland following the departure of the White after the Nigerian independence in 1960. Evaluation of PAH category according to ring size coupled with data from specific molecular ratios revealed inputs dominated by wood/coal combustion with a moderate contribution from petrochemical/liquid fossil fuel exhaust emissions and a minor diagenetic sources. Principal component analysis result not only distinctively separated RS from RC core samples but also revealed that the RS samples were more impacted by wood/coal combustion emissions than the RC, while liquid fossil fuel exhaust emission dominated the RC over the RS samples. Although short-range eolian transport did play a role in the delivery of PAHs to the lake, localization of source contamination was more important.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded in part by the European Association of Organic Geochemists (EAOG travel scholarship award). We are also grateful for the facility provided by the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) Barcelona, Spain, and ADECYTE as well as the assistance of the Department de Fisica-Institut de Cienciai Technologia Ambientals University at Bellaterra, Spain, in the radiometric analysis of our sediment cores at little or no cost (facilitated by J. Albaiges and J. Batona).

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  1. Environmental/Petroleum Geochemistry Research Group, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

    Inyang O. Oyo-Ita, Orok E. Oyo-Ita, Ekpo O. Ikip, Edidiong S. Sam & Ugim S. Ugim

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  1. Inyang O. Oyo-Ita
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  2. Orok E. Oyo-Ita
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Correspondence to Orok E. Oyo-Ita.

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Oyo-Ita, I.O., Oyo-Ita, O.E., Ikip, E.O. et al. Source Characterization and Historical Trend of Sedimentary PAHs from Refome Lake, South–South Nigeria. Aquat Geochem 23, 377–398 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-017-9327-5

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