Hydrocarbons in Lake Washington Sediments. A 25-Year Retrospective in an Urban Lake
Abstract
Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and stable and radiocarbon isotope distributions are compared for dated cores from the 1970s and 2000 for a 25-year retrospective in Lake Washington, Seattle, WA (USA). Contamination of Lake Washington sediments by petrogenic aliphatic hydrocarbons and pyrolytic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons via atmospheric deposition and stormwater runoff peaked between the 1950s and 1970s and has since decreased as stormwater inputs have been reduced. Radiocarbon signatures (Δ^(14)C, ‰) of total organic carbon decrease (increased "age") in the depth interval of highest hydrocarbon concentration. Graphitic black carbon in the year 2000 core showed a historical profile similar to that of the PAH; however high background sediments deposited before the founding of Seattle indicates a considerable nonindustrial component derived from weathering in the watershed. Unlike hydrocarbon contamination, input of terrestrial organic matter (tracked by long-chain fatty alcohols) has increased throughout the late 20th century, documenting a shift in pollutant sources away from hydrocarbons and toward anthropogenic erosion of the region's soils.
Additional Information
© 2004 American Chemical Society. Received for review April 7, 2003. Revised manuscript received October 23, 2003. Accepted October 27, 2003. Publication Date (Web): November 27, 2003. Roy Carpenter helped collect cores in the 1970s and Michael Peterson and the late John Hedges helped in 2000. E. R. M. Druffel, F. G. Prahl, and three anonymous reviewers gave inciteful comments on the paper. This research was supported by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the U.S. National Science Foundation, NSERC (Canada), and a fellowship from the Hanse Institute for Advanced Study (Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg) in Delmenhorst, Germany, to S.G.W.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 75134
- DOI
- 10.1021/es0343149
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20170315-090455936
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- NSF
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Hanse Institute for Advanced Study
- Created
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2017-03-15Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-15Created from EPrint's last_modified field