Contamination in sediments, bivalves and sponges of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

Negri et al. (2006) examined the concentrations of total hydrocarbons (THC), PCBs, PAHs, in marine sediments off the Scott Base (NZ) and compared them with sediments near the highly polluted McMurdo Station (US) as well as less contaminated sites including Turtle Rock and Cape Evans. The THC concentration in sediments from Scott Base ranged from 3.0 to 134 μg g-1, 3 fold higher than the pristine site, Turtle Rock, but 10 fold lower than samples from McMurdo Station.

The concentration of PAHs ranged from 0.1 to 2.1 μg g-1. PCB content varied between < 5 and 373 ng g.-1. The PCB concentrations for Turtle Rock were below the detection limit (<5 ng g-1).