Distribution characteristics and controlling factors of PAHs in surface sediments in north of North Yellow sea

In order to investigate the distribution and controlling factors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the sediments in the north of North Yellow sea, we collected 31 surface sediments in July 2016 in these areas and analyzed PAHs, total organic carbon and particle size.The results show that the total PAHs concentration of the surface sediments was in the range of 3.54 ng/g to 93.07 ng/g (average value, 34.50 ng/g), indicating a relatively low PAHs pollution level in the study area.The distribution of PAHs decreases gradually from offshore to offshore along eastern coast of the Liaodong Peninsula.According to the principal component analysis, the majority of PAHs in the sediments is from fossil fuel combustion and oil spill.The distribution of organic carbon in this area is affected by the material input of the Yalu River, and its content gradually decreases from east to west.The grain size appears to be large in the east of the Changshan Islands; while in the west of Changshan Islands, the grain size is small, and with relatively few variations.Further analysis shows that the distribution of PAHs in the study area is mainly affected by the material source of the Yalu River, small and medium-sized rivers along the Liaodong Peninsula and the Yellow River.In addition, sedimentary dynamic conditions are also important factors affecting the distribution of PAHs.