Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon transport processes on the scale of a flood event in the rural watershed of Le Bebec, France

Amer Mouhri (1) , Anne Motelay-Massei (1) , Nicolas Massei (1) , Matthieu Fournier (1) , Benoît B. Laignel (1)

1 M2C - Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière

Transport processes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in a rural watershed in France, which led to new quantitative results on the scale of a flood event. For that purpose, principal components analysis (PCA) combined with signal decomposition of PAH Breakthrough curves were used. The results obtained by PCA enabled us to distinguish (i) the transport of low molecular weight PAHs in dissolved form and (ii) the transport of high molecular weight PAHs in particulate form. The intermediate molecular weight PAHs are distributed in these two clusters. The application of a signal decomposition method confirms the results of PCA and makes it possible to quantify the mass PAH resulting, respectively, from resuspension (13.3 mg, i.e. 77% of the total mass) and from direct transfer (2.8 mg = 16% of the total mass). For the resuspension phase, desorption of PAH (38% of the total exported mass) could be also distinguished from sediment resuspension (39%).

Mots clés: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Runoff; Resuspension; Principal component analysis; Peak decomposition

Domaines: Interfaces continentales, environnement; Milieux et Changements globaux

Amer Mouhri, Anne Motelay-Massei, Nicolas Massei, Matthieu Fournier, Benoît B. Laignel. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon transport processes on the scale of a flood event in the rural watershed of Le Bebec, France. Chemosphere, 2008, 73 (4), pp.443-450. ⟨10.1016/j.chemosphere.2008.05.046⟩. ⟨hal-02327548⟩