Significance of Perylene for Source Allocation of Terrigenous Organic Matter in Aquatic SedimentsSignificance of Perylene for Source Allocation of Terrigenous Organic Matter in Aquatic Sediments

TitleSignificance of Perylene for Source Allocation of Terrigenous Organic Matter in Aquatic SedimentsSignificance of Perylene for Source Allocation of Terrigenous Organic Matter in Aquatic Sediments
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsHanke, UM, Lima-Braun, AL, Eglinton, TI, Donnelly, JP, Galy, V, Poussart, P, Hughen, K, McNichol, AP, Xu, L, Reddy, CM
JournalEnvironmental Science & Technology
Volume53
Issue14
Pagination8244 - 8251
Date PublishedApr-07-2020
ISSN0013-936X
Abstract

Perylene is a frequently abundant, and sometimes the only polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in aquatic sediments, but its origin has been subject of a longstanding debate in geochemical research and pollutant forensics because its historical record differs markedly from typical anthropogenic PAHs. Here we investigate whether perylene serves as a source-specific molecular marker of fungal activity in forest soils. We use a well-characterized sedimentary record (1735-1999) from the anoxic-bottom waters of the Pettaquamscutt River basin, RI to examine mass accumulation rates and isotope records of perylene, and compare them with total organic carbon and the anthropogenic PAH fluoranthene. We support our arguments with radiocarbon (14C) data of higher plant leaf-wax n-alkanoic acids. Isotope-mass balance-calculations of perylene and n-alkanoic acids indicate that ∼40% of sedimentary organic matter is of terrestrial origin. Further, both terrestrial markers are pre-aged on millennial time-scales prior to burial in sediments and are insensitive to elevated 14C concentrations following nuclear weapons testing in the mid-20th Century. Instead, changes coincide with enhanced erosional flux during urban sprawl. These findings suggest that perylene is definitely a product of soil-derived fungi, and a powerful chemical tracer to study the spatial and temporal connectivity between terrestrial and aquatic environments.

URLhttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b02344
DOI10.1021/acs.est.9b0234410.1021/acs.est.9b02344.s001