DISTRIBUTION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS (PAH) IN RECENT SEDIMENTS OF 2 TRANSVERSAL TRANSECTS IN THE MIDDLE PART OF THE ADRIATIC SEA

The contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were examined in surface sediments from the open Adriatic Sea. UV-fluorescence spectroscopy was used for the analysis, and continued emission spectra were scanned for the lower and higher aromatic fractions. The samples were collected in three seasons, December 1986, May 1987 and September 1987 on two transects between Yugoslavia and Italy. Higher values were found near the Italian coast. From spectral line shapes it is evident that there was no local source of pollution and that PAH are of petrogenic and pyrolytic origin. The spatial distribution of PAH contents is in good agreement with the dispersion pattern of recent sediments of the Adriatic Sea. © 1990 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd.