THE DETERMINATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS IN SEAWATER FROM THE FLUXMANCHE TRANSECT (DOVER STRAIT)

Concentrations of a range of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were determined by means of coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). Water samples were collected, using a contamination-free sampling device, at two depths (Im subsurface and 3 m above the seabed) at each of the six stations established in the Dover Strait. The stations were occupied during June and October 1990, and July 1991. Concentrations of PAH were often close to or below the limits of detection for samples of 10.8 1 volume, although a number of samples exhibited high concentrations (of naphthalenes in particular) which were apparently derived from shipping inputs in the Dover Strait. Future work will require the development of methods with lower limits of detection, and which can integrate concentrations over different timescales in order to obtain time-averaged concentrations of PAH.