POLYAROMATIC HYDROCARBON (PAH) DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE SEINE RIVER AND ITS ESTUARY

Dissolved and particulate PAHs were quantified throughout the Seine Ri ver and its estuary. Samples were collected in October 1993, covering a salinity gradient of 0.2% to 34.8%. Two mooring stations were occupi ed at the river mouth to ascertain the influence of tidal cycles on th e dispersal of riverborne PAHs. Total particulate PAH concentrations r anged from 2 to 687 ng l(-1) (or 1 to 14 mu g(-1)). Concentrations wer e correlated to the suspended matter load and distributions could be e xplained by estuarine mixing, PAH levels decreased from ebb to flood t ides, PAH concentrations in the dissolved phase (4 to 36 ng l(-1)) wer e, in general, an order of magnitude lower than in the particulate pha se, The partition coefficient of individual PAHs (K-oc) were comparabl e to those previously reported for the Rhone River suspensions, (C) 19 97 Elsevier Science Ltd.