Insight into the effect mechanism of sedimentary record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon: Isotopic evidence for lake organic matter deposition and regional development model

Xinli Xing; Weijie Liu; Peng Li; Yewang Su; Xingyu Li; Mingming Shi; Tianpeng Hu; Ya Zhang; Li Liu; Jiaquan Zhang; Shihua Qi

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117380

Insight into the effect mechanism of sedimentary record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon: Isotopic evidence for lake organic matter deposition and regional development model

Environ Res. 2023 Dec 15;239(Pt 1):117380. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117380. Epub 2023 Oct 11.

Authors

Xinli Xing¹, Weijie Liu², Peng Li³, Yewang Su⁴, Xingyu Li⁴, Mingming Shi², Tianpeng Hu⁵, Ya Zhang⁶, Li Liu⁶, Jiaquan Zhang⁷, Shihua Qi⁸

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China; State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Yangtze Catchment Environmental Aquatic Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430078, China. Electronic address: xlxing@cug.edu.cn.
² School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Yangtze Catchment Environmental Aquatic Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430078, China.
³ School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China; Hubei Geological Bureau, Wuhan, 430034, China.
⁴ School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.
⁵ School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Yangtze Catchment Environmental Aquatic Science, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430078, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, 435003, China.
⁶ Hubei Geological Bureau, Wuhan, 430034, China.
⁷ Hubei Key Laboratory of Mine Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, 435003, China.
⁸ School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China; State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.

PMID: 37832771
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117380

Abstract

Deciphering the temporal patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment cores, and the effect mechanism of sedimentary organic matter (OM) and regional development model on PAHs are crucial for pollution control and environmental management. Herein, sediment core was collected from Chenhu international wetland in Wuhan, central China. Meanwhile, historical trend and source of PAHs and sedimentary OM were presented, respectively. Result demonstrated that the most significant growth of PAHs (increased by 158.8%) was attributed to the significant enhancement of traffic emission (5.57 times), coal combustion (4.59 times), and biomass burning (8.09 times). Similarly, the percentage of phytoplankton (stage Ⅲ: 37.9%; stage Ⅳ: 31.2%) and terrestrial C3 plants (stage Ⅲ: 24.6%; stage Ⅳ: 29.2%) to sedimentary OM hold the dominant position after the stage Ⅱ. The obvious shifts of historical trend and sources in PAHs were highly related to economic development models (r = 0.72, p < 0.001) and sedimentary OM (r = 0.82, p < 0.001). It demonstrated that eutrophication of lake accelerated the burial of PAHs. Redundancy analysis results suggested that TOC was dominating driver of sedimentary PAHs (16.56%) and phytoplankton occupied 9.58%. To further confirm the significant role of economic development models, three different historical trends of PAHs in different regions of China were presented. The result of this study provides the new insight into the geochemistry mechanism of lake sedimentary OM and PAHs. Meanwhile, the relationship of regional development model and sedimentary PAHs was highlighted in this study. Significantly, the main environmental implications of this study are as follows: (1) lake eutrophication of phytoplankton OM accelerated the burial of PAHs in lake sediment; (2) economic development models and energy structure significantly influence the sedimentary PAHs. This study highlights the coupling relationship between OM burial and PAHs sedimentation, and the importance of accelerating the transformation of economic energy structure.

Keywords: Eutrophication; Geographic patterns; PAHs; Sedimentary core; Sedimentary organic matter.

MeSH terms

Biomass
China
Coal
Lakes*
Phytoplankton
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons*

Substances

Coal
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons