Scientific article of the Hydrographic Institute published in international journal

In the international journal Science of the Total Environment, a scientific article entitled “Source identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil sediments: application of different methods” by authors Carla Palma and Catarina Rocha, of the Hydrographic Institute’s Chemical and Pollution Division of the Marine Environment, which is based on demonstrating the application of different analytical data processing methodologies in order to identify the origin of a particular class of chemical compounds (Policical aromatic hydrocarbons). These compounds are toxic and carcinogenic and their physicochemical properties make them fit to associate with sediment and animal tissues.

Thus, it becomes relevant to identify its sources, allowing them to act on them in order to minimize the introduction of these compounds into the environment.

This study focused on the analysis of sediments collected in 4 Portuguese estuaries: Ria de Aveiro, Rio Tejo, Rio Sado and Ria Formosa, between 2010 and 2016, under the project Surveillance and Quality of the Marine Environment.