ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, cilt.141, sa.2, ss.265-274, 2006 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The Kishon River, the second largest coastal river in Israel, has been severely polluted for several decades. Sediments from upstream and downstream sites of the river were analyzed, lipid-extracted and evaluated for phenanthrene uptake. Total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration in downstream sediments was 299 mu g kg(-1), consisting mostly of petrogenic-derived PAHs. Downstream sedimentary lipids were found to be dominated by fresh and decomposed petroleum-derived n-alkanes. The total PAH concentration in upstream sediments was 173 mu g kg(-1), consisting mostly of pyrogenic-derived PAHs, whereas lipids from these sediments were mostly vegetation-derived. Spectroscopic data suggested an exceptionally high aromatic content in downstream humic acid, which originated from PAHs attached to its structure. Sorption data suggested that upstream sedimentary cuticle-derived lipids function as a sorption domain, while downstream sedimentary lipids, consisting of shorter-chain-length petroleum-derived alkanes, compete with phenanthrene for sorption sites. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.