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J.W. Farrington

Publications and source records attributed to J.W. Farrington.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2009

Anthropogenic molecular markers: Tools to identify the sources and transport pathways of pollutants

The activities of modern civilization have released to the oceans a wide variety of both mobilized natural compounds and synthetic compounds not found prior to modern times. Many of these compounds provide a means of identifying sources of inputs and pathways of movement of chemicals through oceanic ecosystems and serve as molecular markers of human activities. A coastal ocean (Tokyo Bay) and a deep ocean (Deep Water Dump Site 106 in the Western North Atlantic Ocean) example are presented. In the deep ocean study, the correlation between potential sewage marker, i.e. linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) concentrations indicates a contribution of sewage sludge PCBs to the dump site sediments.

ACS Symposium Series↗
USGS2002

Transport of sludge-derived organic pollutants to deep-sea sediments at deep water dump site 106

Linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), coprostanol and epi-coprostanol, were detected in sediment trap and bottom sediment samples at the Deep Water Dump Site 106 located 185 km off the coast of New Jersey, in water depths from 2400 to 2900 m. These findings clearly indicate that organic pollutants derived from dumped sludge are transported through the water column and have accumulated on the deep-sea floor. No significant difference in LABs isomeric composition was observed among sludge and samples, indicating little environmental biodegradation of these compounds. LABs and coprostanol have penetrated down to a depth of 6 cm in sediment, indicating the mixing of these compounds by biological and physical processes. Also, in artificially resuspended surface sediments, high concentrations of LABs and coprostanols were detected, implying that sewage-derived organic pollutants initially deposited on the deep-sea floor can be further dispersed by resuspension and transport processes. Small but significant amounts of coprostanol were detected in the sediment from a control site at which no LABs were detected. The coprostanol is probably derived from feces of marine mammals and sea birds and/or from microbial or geochemical transformations of cholesterol. Polcyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediment trap samples from the dump site were largely from the sewage sludge and had a mixed petroleum and pyrogenic composition. In contrast, PAHs in sediments in the dump site were mainly pyrogenic; contributed either from sewage sludge or from atmospheric transport to the overlying waters. & 1994 American Chemical Society.

Environmental Science & Technology↗
USGS2002

Contaminated sediments database for the Gulf of Maine

Bottom sediments in the Gulf of Maine and its estuaries have accumulated pollutants of many types, including metals and organic compounds of agricultural, industrial, and household derivation. Much analytical and descriptive data has been obtained on these sediments over the past decades, but only a small effort had been made, prior to this project, to compile and edit the published and unpublished data in forms suitable for a variety of users. The Contaminated Sediments Database for the Gulf of Maine provides a compilation and synthesis of existing data to help establish the environmental status of our coastal sediments and the transport paths and fate of contaminants in this region. This information, in turn, forms one of the essential bases for developing successful remediation and resource management policies.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1995

Comparison of the in situ and desorption sediment-water partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls

In situ sediment−porewater partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) measured in three cores from Boston Harbor, MA, has led us to suggest that only a fraction of the total measured sediment PAH concentration is a vailable for e quilibrium p artitioning (AEP fraction). To test this, aqueous PAH concentrations were measured in laboratory desorption experiments using subsamples of the same Boston Harbor sediments. The observed concentrations were consistent with what we predicted from the field-derived AEP values: C aqueous = ( C sediment × AEP)/( f oc × K oc ) where f oc is the fraction organic carbon in the sediment and K oc is the organic carbon normalized sediment−water partition coefficient. Equilibrium partitioning models based on the total measured sediment PAH concentrations overestimated the measured aqueous PAH concentrations by as much as 100 times in some cases. Only a small fraction of the sediment phenanthrene and pyrene concentrations (1−40%) appeared to be available for equilibrium partitioning. Both in situ and laboratory desorption aqueous polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations were consistent with equilibrium partitioning models and the assumption that 100% of these compounds was available for equilibrium partitioning. These results are particularly important to efforts to predict the environmental mobility and bioavailability of the PAHs.

Massachusetts↗