INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON WETLANDS AND SUSTAINABILITY 2007

DISTRIBUTION AND SOURCES OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC

HYDROCARBONS IN SEDIMENTS OF MAI PO WETLAND AND MARSHES OF
HONG KONG
Zhen-Ye Zhao, Ji-Dong Gu*, Jessie Lai
jdgu@hkucc.hku.hk

Abstract

The Mai Po wetland and marshes is the largest mangrove stands in Hong Kong and
an important wetland habitat for high diversity of flora and fauna. Results of sediment
analysis showed that ∑PAHs concentrations ranged from 85.8 to 261.6 ng g-1 dry
weight with an average of 147.4 ng g-1. Because of the hydrodynamic pattern of tidal
activity and sedimentation of silt and clay carried by muddy water of the Pearl River
discharging into the area, a decreasing trend of the ∑PAHs was also observed from
the land to the sea direction on the mudflats. Interestingly, the concentrations of
∑PAHs in the winter (112.3-261.6 ng g-1) were higher than in the summer (85.8-
181.2 ng g-1), also the percentage of PAHs with 2-3 aromatic rings, which were
highly susceptibility to bio- and photo-degradation, showed a decreasing trend from
winter (0.05-0.29) to summer (0.08-0.15). These data collectively indicated that the
distribution of PAHs in the sediment of the intertidal area is sensitive to seasonal
changes. Meanwhile, the concentrations of ∑PAHs at two sampling sites (A and D)
were higher than other sites, and the concentrations of ∑PAHs at site C were the
lowest among all sampling times, as sites A and D were closer to the discharging
mouth of Shenzhen River and Shan Pui River, respectively. The data indicate that
the PAHs were mainly originated from Shenzhen River and the Shan Pui River.
Concentrations of ∑PAHs were positively correlated with total organic carbon (TOC),
and silt and clay contents except for the nearby traditional shrimp farming ponds (gei
wai, G12 and G13). These relationships are consistent with PAH phase associations
reported for field collected sediments from coastal and riverine environments. As
sites G12 and G13 were adjacent to the mangrove, the sediment contained a great
deal of humic and undecomposed debris, the TOC was significantly higher than

*Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR
 INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON WETLANDS AND SUSTAINABILITY 2007

other sampling sites suggesting that the nature of the sediment influences the
distribution and concentration of PAHs.

Based on the characteristics of the parent compound distributions (PCDs) and the
alkyl homologue distributions (AHDs) of phenanthrene/anthrancene, and
fluoranthene/pyrene of PAHs, the origin and potential source of PAHs in the
sediments from each sampling sites was identified. Majority of the
phenanthrene/anthracene ratios of sediments from all mudflats and gei wei were less
than 10, but the fluoranthene/pyrene ratio was higher than 1, suggesting that the
sediments were mainly contaminated by pyrolytic sources from combustion.
Moreover, the high composition of tetra- and penta-cyclic aromatic compounds of the
PAH profile further suggests that PAHs contamination in the investigated area is
related to PAHs rich atmospheric particulates produced by anthropogenic
combustion.

Keywords:

*Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR