Alkane and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments and benthic invertebrates of the northern Chukchi Sea

Abstract The Hanna Shoal region represents an important northern gateway for transport and deposition in the Chukchi Sea. This study determined the concentration and distribution of organic contaminants (aliphatic hydrocarbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) in surface sediments from 34 sites across Hanna Shoal. Up to 31 total PAHs, including parent and alkyl homologues were detected with total concentrations ranging from a low of 168 ng g −1 the western flank of Hanna Shoal (station H34) to 1147 ng g −1 at station in Barrow Canyon (station BarC5). Alkyl PAHs were more abundant than parent structures and accounted for 53–64% of the summed concentrations suggesting overall at background levels ( −1 ) in sediments. Alkane (C 15 –C 33 ) hydrocarbons ranged from 4.3 µg g −1 on the southern flank of Hanna shoal to 31 µg g −1 at a northern station. Sediments were often dominated by short chain (C 15 –C 22 ) alkanes with overall terrestrial aquatic ratios (TAR) for the region averaging 0.20. Based on the ratio of Fl/(Fl+ Py) and BaF/(Baf+BeP) verses (BA/BA+Ch) in sediments, PAHs are largely derived from petrogenic sources with minor amounts of mixed combustion sources. A diversity of PAHs were detected in the northern whelk Neptunea heros foot muscle with total concentrations ranging from 0.14 to 1.5 µg g −1 dry tissue wt. Larger (and presumably older) animals showed higher levels of PAH per unit muscle tissue, suggesting that animals may bioaccumulate PAHs over time, with low but increasing concentrations also present in internal and external eggs. Alkane hydrocarbons were also higher in whelks with distributions similar to that seen in sediments. The mussel Muscularus discors collected in Barrow Canyon showed constrained distributions and substantially lower concentrations of both PAHs and alkanes than the surrounding surface sediments.