Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a threat to environmental and human health due to their persistence and toxicological effects. In this paper, we analyse some meteorological and organic-matter-related effects on their distribution in the soils of an Alpine environment that is not subject to direct contamination. We collected samples and measured the contamination of 12 selected congeners from three soil layers (O, A1 and A2) and from North-, plain- and South-facing slopes on six different dates spanning the entire snowless portion of the year. We recorded the hourly air and soil temperatures, humidity and rainfall in the study period. We found evidence that PCBs contamination in soils varies significantly, depending on sampling date, layer and aspect. The observed seasonal trend shows an early summer peak and a rapid decrease during June. The layer effect demonstrates higher dry-weight-based concentrations in the O layer, whereas the differences are much smaller for SOM-based concentrations. Different factors caused significantly higher concentrations in northern soils, with a N/S enrichment factor ranging from 1.8 to 1.5 during the season. The southern site has significantly more rapid early-summer re-volatilisation kinetics (half-time of 16d for South, 25d for North).

Guazzoni, N., Comolli, R., Mariani, L., Cola, G., Parolini, M., Binelli, A., et al. (2011). Meteorological and pedological influence on the PCBs distribution in mountain soils. CHEMOSPHERE, 83(2), 186-192 [10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.12.043].

Meteorological and pedological influence on the PCBs distribution in mountain soils

COMOLLI, ROBERTO;
2011

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a threat to environmental and human health due to their persistence and toxicological effects. In this paper, we analyse some meteorological and organic-matter-related effects on their distribution in the soils of an Alpine environment that is not subject to direct contamination. We collected samples and measured the contamination of 12 selected congeners from three soil layers (O, A1 and A2) and from North-, plain- and South-facing slopes on six different dates spanning the entire snowless portion of the year. We recorded the hourly air and soil temperatures, humidity and rainfall in the study period. We found evidence that PCBs contamination in soils varies significantly, depending on sampling date, layer and aspect. The observed seasonal trend shows an early summer peak and a rapid decrease during June. The layer effect demonstrates higher dry-weight-based concentrations in the O layer, whereas the differences are much smaller for SOM-based concentrations. Different factors caused significantly higher concentrations in northern soils, with a N/S enrichment factor ranging from 1.8 to 1.5 during the season. The southern site has significantly more rapid early-summer re-volatilisation kinetics (half-time of 16d for South, 25d for North).
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
PCBs, Alpine soils, Seasonal variation, Layer effect, Aspect effect, Summer volatilisation
English
2011
83
2
186
192
none
Guazzoni, N., Comolli, R., Mariani, L., Cola, G., Parolini, M., Binelli, A., et al. (2011). Meteorological and pedological influence on the PCBs distribution in mountain soils. CHEMOSPHERE, 83(2), 186-192 [10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.12.043].
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/29882
Citazioni
  • Scopus 18
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 14
Social impact