Environmental contextThe concentrations of n-alkanes, phthalates and alkylphenols in a dated sediment core from the Yangtze River estuary steadily increased, with evident peaks in c. 1980 and c. 2000. Most of the phthalates and alkylphenols in the core originated from direct industrial and municipal discharges into the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, whereas the n-alkanes were mainly from aquatic and terrestrial plants. The Yangtze River discharge plays an important role in the sedimentary records of organic compounds.
AbstractThe depositional records of phthalate esters (PAEs), alkylphenols (APs) and n-alkanes in the Yangtze River Estuary over the past century were constructed using a dated sediment core to help reconstruct the environmental history. The n-alkane concentrations increased steadily. All the samples had a resolved lower-alkane pattern with well-defined even-over-odd predominance. The n-alkanes originated largely from aquatic and terrestrial plants (83.6%), the remainder being contributed by way of biotransformation in the land soil and river (16.4%). The down-core concentration profiles of PAEs and APs increased rapidly, with evident peaks in the 1980s and c. 2000. PAE and AP homologues were dominated by dibutyl phthalate and nonylphenol respectively, originating mainly from industrial and municipal discharges (79.5%). Long-range transportation from the upper and middle reaches played a much smaller role (20.5%), especially in recent decades. The changes in the Yangtze River discharge and the modification of the water system played important roles in the transport of organic compounds, especially after the 1950s.
Formation and Evolution of Wetland and Landform in the Yangtze River Estuary Over the Past 50 Years Based on Digitized Sea Maps and Multi-Temporal Satellite Images
