Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils from European High Mountain Areas

  • Published:
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in 70 soils distributed in mountain areas such as Montseny (300–1,700 m), Pyrenees (1,500–2,900 m), Alps (1,100–2,500 m), and Tatras (1,400–1,960 m). Average total PAH concentrations, excluding retene and perylene, were about 400 ng/g in the Pyrenees and 1,300–1,600 ng/g in the other mountain ranges. No correlations between PAH concentrations and total organic carbon were observed. Retene was the major PAH in the Pyrenean soils of lower altitude. No altitudinal dependence was found between soil PAH concentrations and elevation for the whole dataset. However, in the Tatra soils a statistically significant correlation with altitude was observed involving higher concentrations at higher altitude. This correlation was due to the statistically significant altitudinal dependence of the more volatile PAHs. Another observed altitudinal trend concerned the benz[a]anthracene/(benz[a]anthracene + chrysene + triphenylene) and the benzo[a]pyrene/(benzo[a]pyrene + benzo[e]pyrene) ratios that exhibited a decrease in the more chemically labile compounds, benz[a]anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene, respectively, in the soils located at higher altitude. This observation is consistent with the expected higher photooxidation at higher mountain altitude.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aceves, M., & Grimalt, J. O. (1993). Seasonally dependent size distributions of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban aerosols from densely populated areas. Environmental Science and Technology, 27, 2896–2908.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aizenshtat, Z. (1973). Perylene and its geochemical significance. Geochimicha et Cosmochimica Acta, 37, 559–567.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, J. O., Dookeran, N. M., Smith, K. A., Sarofim, A. F., Taghizadeh, K., & Lafleur, A. L. (1996). Measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with size-segregated atmospheric aerosols in Massachusetts. Environmental Science and Technology, 30, 1023–1031.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barra, R., Popp, P., Quiroz, R., Bauer, C., Cid, H., & Tumpling, W. V. (2005). Persistent toxic substances in soils and waters along an altitudinal gradient in the Laja River Basin, Central Southern Chile. Chemosphere, 58, 905–915.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benner, B. A., Wise, S. A., Currie, Ll A., Klouda, G. A., Klinedinst, D. B., Zweidinger, R. B., et al. (1995). Distinguishing the contributions of residential wood combustion and mobile source emissions using relative concentrations of dimethylphenanthrene isomers. Environmental Science and Technology, 29, 2383–2389.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berteigne, M., Lefevre, Y., & Rose, C. (1988). Accumulation de polluants organiques (H.P.A.) dans les horizons humifères des sols. European Journal of Forest Pathology, 18, 310–318.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carrera, G., Fernandez, P., Vilanova, R., & Grimalt, J. O. (1998). Analysis of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine compounds in atmospheric residues by solid-phase disk extraction. Journal of Chromatography, 823, 189–196.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, G. L., Lei, Y. D., Castillo, L. E., Muir, D. C. G., & Wania, F. (2007). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Costa Rican air and soil: A tropical/temperate comparison. Atmospheric Environment, 41, 7339–7350.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, P., Vilanova, R., & Grimalt, J. O. (1996). PAH distribution in sediments from high mountain lakes. Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds, 9, 121–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, P., Vilanova, R., & Grimalt, J. O. (1999). Sediment fluxes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in European high altitude mountain lakes. Environmental Science and Technology, 33, 3716–3722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, P., Vilanova, R. M., Martínez, C., Appleby, P., & Grimalt, J. O. (2000). The historical record of atmospheric pyrolytic pollution over Europe registered in the sedimentary PAH from remote mountain lakes. Environmental Science and Technology, 34, 1906–1913.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, P., Grimalt, J. O., & Vilanova, R. M. (2002). Atmospheric gas-particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in high mountain regions of Europe. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 1162–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freitag, D., Ballhorn, L., Geyer, H., & Korte, F. (1985). Environmental hazard profile of organic chemicals. Chemosphere, 14, 1589–1616.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grimalt, J. O., Fernández, P., Berdié, L., Vilanova, R. M., Catalan, J., Psenner, R., et al. (2001). Selective trapping of organochlorine compounds in mountain lakes of temperate areas. Environmental Science and Technology, 35, 2690–2697.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grimalt, J. O., van Drooge, B. L., Ribes, A., Fernandez, P., & Appleby, P. (2004). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon composition in soils and sediments of high altitude lakes. Environmental Pollution, 131, 13–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guggenberg, G., Pichler, M., Hartmann, R., & Zech, W. (1996). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in different forest soils: Mineral horizons. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde, 159, 563–573.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, Ö., Haghseta, F., Chan, C., Macfarlane, J., & Gschwend, P. M. (1997). Quantification of the dilute sedimentary soot phase: Implications for PAH speciation and bioavailability. Environmental Science and Technology, 31, 203–209.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hartmann, R. (1996). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in forest soils: Critical evaluation of a new analytical procedure. International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 62, 161–173.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hites, R. A., Laflamme, R. E., & Farrington, J. W. (1977). Sedimentary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: the historical record. Science, 198, 829–831.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, K. C., Stratford, J. A., Waterhouse, K. S., & Vogt, N. B. (1989a). Organic contaminants in Welsh soils: Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Environmental Science and Technology, 23, 540–550.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, K. C., Stratford, J. A., Waterhouse, K. S., Furlong, E., Giger, W., Hites, R. A., et al. (1989b). Increases in the polynuclear hydrocarbon content of an agricultural soil over the last century. Environmental Science and Technology, 23, 95–101.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kamens, R. M., Fulcher, J. N., & Zhishi, G. (1986). Effects of temperature on wood soot PAH decay in atmospheres with sunlight and low NOx. Atmospheric Environment, 20, 1579–1587.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kamens, R. M., Guo, Z., Fulcher, J. N., & Bell, D. A. (1988). Influence on humidity, sunlight, and temperature on the daytime decay on polyaromatic hydrocarbons on atmospheric soot particles. Environmental Science and Technology, 22, 103–108.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kapustka, L. A. (2004). Establishing Eco-SSLs for PAHs: Lessons revealed from a review of literature on exposure and effects to terrestrial receptors. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 10, 185–205.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • LaFlamme, R. E., & Hites, R. A. (1978). The global distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in recent sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 42, 289–303.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maliszewka-Kordybach, B. (1996). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in agricultural soils in Poland: Preliminary proposals for criteria to evaluate the level of soil contamination. Applied Geochemistry, 11, 121–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nam, J. J., Sweetman, A. J., & Jones, K. C. (2009). Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in global background soils. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 11, 45–48.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T. (1988). The decay of benzo(a)pyrene and cyclopenteno(cd)pyrene in the atmosphere. Atmospheric Environment, 22, 2249–2254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramdahl, T. (1983). Retene—A molecular marker of wood combustion in ambient air. Nature, 306, 580–582.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reynaud, S., & Deschaux, P. (2006). The effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the immune system of fish: A review. Aquatic Toxicology, 77, 229–238.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ribes, S., van Drooge, B., Dachs, J., Gustafsson, Ø., & Grimalt, J. O. (2003). Influence of soot carbon on the soil–air partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 2675–2680.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, G., Jones, K. C., & Hamilton-Taylor, J. (1993). Concentration and deposition fluxes of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in the dated sediments of a rural English Lake. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 12, 1567–1581.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sicre, M. A., Marty, J. C., Saliot, A., Aparicio, X., Grimalt, J. O., & Albaigés, J. (1987). Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in different sized aerosols over the Mediterranean Sea: Occurrence and origin. Atmospheric Environment, 21, 2247–2259.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simcik, M. F., Eisenreich, S. J., Golden, K. A., Liu, S.-P., Lipiatou, E., Swackhamer, D. L., et al. (1996). Atmospheric loading of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to Lake Michigan as recorded in the sediments. Environmental Science and Technology, 30, 3039–3046.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simó, R., Grimalt, J. O., & Albaigés, J. (1997). Loss of unburned-fuel hydrocarbons from combustion aerosols during atmospheric transport. Environmental Science and Technology, 31, 2697–2700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simoneit, B. R. T. (1977). Diterpenoid compounds and other lipids in deep-sea sediments and their geochemical significance. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 41, 463–476.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, N., Lu, C. G., Gao, X., Li, C. L., & Chen, L. M. (2007). Distribution and source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil of east Qingzang Plateau. Huanjing Kexue/Environmental Science, 28, 664–668.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tan, Y. L., & Heit, M. (1981). Biogenic and abiogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from two remote Adirondack lakes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 45, 2267–2279.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tolosa, I., Bayona, J. M., & Albaiges, J. (1996). Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sulphur/oxygen derivatives in Northwestern Mediterranean sediments: Spatial and temporal variability, fluxes, and budgets. Environmental Science and Technology, 30, 2495–2503.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Usenko, S., Landers, D. H., Appleby, P. G., & Simonich, S. L. (2007). Current and historical deposition of PBDEs, pesticides, PCBs, and PAHs to Rocky Mountain National Park. Environmental Science and Technology, 41, 7235–7241.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van der Oost, R., Beyer, J., & Vermeulen, N. P. E. (2003). Fish bioaccumulation and biomarkers in environmental risk assessment: A review. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 13, 57–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkatesan, M. I. (1988). Occurrence and possible sources of perylene in marine sediments—A review. Marine Chemistry, 25, 1–27.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vives, I., & Grimalt, J. O. (2002). A method for integrated analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine compounds in fish liver. Journal of Chromatography B, 768, 247–254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vives, I., Grimalt, J. O., Catalan, J., Rosseland, B. O., & Battarbee, R. W. (2004). Influence of altitude and age in the accumulation of organochlorine compounds in fish from high mountain lakes. Environmental Science and Technology, 38, 690–698.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt, N. B., Brakstad, F., Thrane, K., Nordenson, S., Krane, J., Aamot, E., et al. (1987). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soils and air: Statistical analysis and classification by the SIMCA method. Environmental Science and Technology, 21, 35–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wakeham, S. G., Schaffner, C., Giger, W., Boon, J. J., & Leeuw, J. W. D. (1979). Perylene in sediments from the Namibian Shelf. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 43, 1141–1144.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wakeham, S. G., Schaffner, C., & Giger, W. (1980a). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in recent lake sediments—I. Compounds having anthropogenic origins. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 44, 403–413.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wakeham, S. G., Schaffner, C., & Giger, W. (1980b). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in recent lake sediments—II. Compounds derived from biogenic precursors during early diagenesis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 44, 415–429.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X. P., Gong, P., & Yao, T. D. (2008). Progress about the research of atmospheric persistent organic pollutants in remote areas. Huanjing Kexue, Environmental Science, 29, 273–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wania, F., & Mackay, D. (1993). Global fractionation and cold condensation of low volatility organo-chlorine compounds in polar regions. Ambio, 22, 10–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wania, F., & Mackay, D. A. (1995). Global distribution model for persistent organic chemicals. The Science of the Total Environment, 160(161), 211–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilcke, W., & Zech, W. (1997). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in forest floors of the Northern Czech mountains. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde, 160, 573–579.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcke, W., Zech, W., & Kobza, J. (1996). PAH-pools in soils along PAH-deposition gradient. Environmental Pollution, 92, 307–313.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcke, W., Krauss, M., & Amelung, W. (2002). Carbon isotope signature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): Evidence for different sources in tropical and temperate environments? Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 3530–3535.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wild, S. R., & Jones, K. C. (1995). Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in the United Kingdom environment: A preliminary source inventory and budget. Environmental Pollution, 88, 91–108.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Financial support from the EU project Eurolimpacs (GOCE-CT-2003-505540) and Consolider-Ingenio Project GRACCIE (CSD2007-00067) is acknowledged. RQ thanks for a grant from the Agreement between Santander-Central-Hispano and CSIC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDÆA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Roberto Quiroz, Joan O. Grimalt & Pilar Fernandez

  2. Limnology Unit (CSIC-UB), Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Accés Cala St. Francesc, 14, 17300, Blanes, Catalonia, Spain

    Lluis Camarero & Jordi Catalan

  3. Department of Hydrology, Charles University, Vinicná 7, 12044, Prague, Czech Republic

    Evzen Stuchlik

  4. Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Hansjoerg Thies

  5. Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Ulrike Nickus

Authors
  1. Roberto Quiroz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joan O. Grimalt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pilar Fernandez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lluis Camarero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jordi Catalan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Evzen Stuchlik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hansjoerg Thies
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Ulrike Nickus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joan O. Grimalt.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Quiroz, R., Grimalt, J.O., Fernandez, P. et al. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils from European High Mountain Areas. Water Air Soil Pollut 215, 655–666 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0507-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0507-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation