EXTRACTIVES FROM A CONIFEROUS BARK DUMP IN COASTAL ESTUARINE SEDIMENTS

An investigation was made of intertidal sediments in the vicinity of b ark dumps adjacent to the shoreline created in the 1960's as bark wast e from a log export port at Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand. Samples col lected in a drainage ditch and intertidal sediments near the bark dump s were analysed by GC-FID and by total ion and selected ion mode GC/MS for concentration of log and barb sourced resin acids such as dehydro abietic acid, abietic acid and pimaric acid. Only low concentrations o f resin acids (mainly dehydroabietic acid and pimaric acid), together with a series of fatty acids (mainly 16:0 to 30:0 fatty acids) and hyd rocarbons (mainly C-22 to C-32 n-alkanes) were detected in the sedimen ts of the intertidal flats. Chemical analyses indicated the sediments to be generally oxic.