The Use of Pollutant and Biogenic Markers as Source Discriminants of Organic Inputs to Estuarine Sediments

Abstract

The estuarine distributions of a variety of molecular organic markers are described and discussed in relation to sources, transport mechanisms and fates of anthropogenic and biogenic inputs to the Tamar Estuary, U.K. Components selected for study include hydrocarbons (saturated and polycyclic aromatics), sterols, lignins and photosynthetic pigments. Techniques used in the analyses of markers include preparative TLC and HPLC; quantification by HPLC-UV/fluorescence and capillary GC-FID with identification by HPLC-rapid scanning diode array spectrophotometry and computerised capillary GC-MS. Non-parametric cluster analysis and multi-dimensional scaling are employed to resolve co-variability between members of different compound classes to investigate sources and processes affecting fates of the compounds in estuarine environments.