Abstract:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood were collected from Galveston Bay (Texas) in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Oysters concentrate PAHs to levels above their surroundings (water and sediments) and contain substantially greater concentrations than other fish catch (shrimp, oysters, blue crabs and fin fish).

Suggested Citation:

Santschi, Peter H. and Antonietta Quigg. 2021. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Cycling and Fates in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/4N1X8ZAC

Purpose:

To determine concentrations of PAHs in defined biological and physical compartments of the Galveston Bay ecosystem and then estimate loading in each compartment.

Data Parameters and Units:

Ship Channel (GBSC), Hanna Reef (GBHR), Yacht Club (GBYC), Todd’s Dump (GBTD), Offatts Bayou (GBOB), and Confederate Reef (GBCR) PAHs concentration (ng/g wet weight) Brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), Oyster (Crassostrea virginica), Spotted Trout (Cynosion nebulosus), Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), White shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus)

Methods:

Samples were collected from six sites in Galveston Bay, including the Ship Channel (GBSC), Hanna Reef (GBHR), Yacht Club (GBYC), Todd’s Dump (GBTD), Offatts Bayou (GBOB), and Confederate Reef (GBCR). These samples were processed using the QuEChERS extraction method (Zaugg SD, et al., 2006) with minor modification as described by Agilent (p/n 5982-6555, p/n 5982-5158). The processed samples were analyzed by GC-MS and using SIM mode. Deuterated phenanthrene was used as the recovery standard while deuterated naphthalene, acenaphthene and perylene were used as running standards. The retention times of the PAH’s and their alkylated analogs were obtained using the standard 16 EPA priority pollutant PAH’s and an oil sample, while the conformation of the PAH’s was done based upon retention time, SIM’s of parent and daughter ions and chromatogram pattern of the alkylated analogs. The results are reported in Deuterated phenanthrene.

Instruments:

Zeiss Axio Imager.M2

Error Analysis:

Standard deviation

Provenance and Historical References:

Zaugg SD, Burkhardt, M.R., Burbank, T.L., Olson, M.C., Iverson, J.L., Schroeder, M.P. Determination of Semivolatile Organic Compounds and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Solids by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. In: Techniques and Methods.: U.S. Geological Survey, ; 2006.

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