Sources, fractionation and fate of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in the Strait of Georgia, Canada
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Sun, Yuanji
issued: 2020-04-24T18:46:37Z
issued: 2020
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The sources, dispersion, fractionation and fate of two persistent organic contaminants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were studied in the Strait of Georgia (SoG), by measuring dissolved (< 2.2 μm) and particulate (> 2.2 μm) PCBs and PBDEs concentrations in seawater at various Salish Sea stations from 2013 to 2018. Our results show that the primary sources of particulate PBDEs (pPBDEs) into the southern SoG are effluent particles from Vancouver’s main wastewater treatment plant at Iona Island and sediment resuspension in Burrard Inlet. In contrast, dissolved PBDEs (dPBDEs) in the southern SoG are generated from the desorption of PBDEs from these particles during their transport with the SoG water circulation, leading to high dPBDEs and low pPBDEs concentrations. These findings were supported by changes in particulate PBDEs contribution to the total PBDE concentrations at various stations, as well as the systematic fractionation of PBDE congeners during desorption from sewage particles and re-adsorption onto marine particles. In addition, the SoG estuarine circulation (including tides) leads to substantial temporal variability of dPBDEs concentrations in southern SoG and near Bowen Island. Most PBDEs in the SoG are eventually removed to the sediment through particle scavenging, leaving the less brominated congeners in the dissolved phase to be exported to the Pacific Ocean. The box model simulation demonstrated that the Fraser River is an important PBDE source due to its high flow rate, despite its low dPBDEs concentrations. Low modelled dPBDEs concentrations, compared with what we measured, point to unquantified sources or an increase in the PBDEs Iona discharge. PCBs have been banned for decades, and showed very different behaviour to PBDEs in SoG. Our limited data suggest that industrialized areas in Burrard Inlet are the main sources to SoG, and not the Iona outfall. Furthermore, the PCB homologs’ distribution support…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/74162
note: SOURCES, FRACTIONATION AND FATE OF POLYBROMINATED DIPHENYL ETHERS AND POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS IN THE STRAIT OF GEORGIA, CANADA by Yuanji Sun B.Sc., China University of Mining and Technology, 2014 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Oceanography) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2020 © Yuanji Sun, 2020 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: SOURCES, FRACTIONATION AND FATE OF POLYBROMINATED DIPHENYL ETHERS AND POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS IN THE STRAIT OF GEORGIA, CANADA submitted by Yuanji Sun in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Oceanography Examining Committee: Dr. Maria T. Maldonado, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Co-supervisor Dr. Roger Francois, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Co-supervisor Dr. Raymond Andersen, Department of Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences/Chemistry Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Ryan Ziels, Department of Civil Engineering Additional Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Dr. Paul Schaffer, TRIUMF & Department of Radiology Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract The sources, dispersion, fractionation and fate of two persistent organic contaminants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were studied in the Strait of Georgia (SoG), by measuring dissolved (< 2.2 μm) and particulate (> 2.2 μm) PCBs and PBDEs concentrations in seawater at various Salish Sea stations from 2013 to 2018. Our results show that the primary sources of particulate PBDEs (pPBDEs) into the southern SoG are effluent particles from Vancouver’s main wastewater treatment plant at Iona Island and sediment resuspension in Burrard Inlet. In contrast, dissolved PBDEs (dPBDEs) in the…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2020-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0389971
language: eng
degree discipline: Oceanography
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/74162