Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon distributions in sediments from the Mar Piccolo, Ionian Sea, Italy

The basin of Mar Piccolo with an area of 2,176 . 10(4) m(2) and with a wate r volume of about 152 . 10(6) m(3), lies at the north of Taranto. It is div ided by two strips of land into the first and the second inlet and it is co nnected with the Mar Grande basin (Ionian Sea) through two narrow passages, Canal of Porta Napoli and Canal Navigabile. Some superficial rivers drain into the basin: Galeso, with a more significant flow, in the upper part of the first inlet; Marrese Canal and Cervaro river in the upper part of the s econd inlet. More, eight urban discharges drain directly into the basin, an d the most significant is Canale D'Aiedda (south, second inlet). Mar Piccol o, because of its characteristic of semi-enclosed basin with marked problem s of water exchange due mainly to moderate sea-tides, represents a marine e cosystem where biological balances have been modified, in relation to the a nthropic development and, in particular, the large industrial settlement. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental contam inants and occur primarily as a result of anthropogenic inputs, while a lit tle contribution comes from events as forest fires (Compaan et al., 1992). Transport to the marine environment occurs both via surface waters and the atmosphere; because of their low aqueous solubilities, PAHs tend to adsorb to particulate material and to be deposited to the underlying sediments (La w & Biscaya, 1994), where they can accumulate to high concentrations. Due t o their wide environmental distribution, mutagenic and carcinogenic propert ies, PAHs merit concerted environmental monitoring. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations, distributi on and sources of PAHs in surface sediments from the Mar Piccolo (Ionian Se a), adjacent area of Taranto harbour one of the mains in Italy.