Ecodynamics of PAHs at a peri-urban site of the French Mediterranean Sea

The PAH contamination level and biochemical composition of sinking particles and surficial sediments (0–0.5 cm layer) were assessed at a rural coastal site in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Surficial sediment contamination (≈20 ng g−1) was considerably lower than at other Mediterranean sites, yet particles collected in sediment traps had 6–8 times more PAH. Contaminated particles were mostly marine in origin. Temporal variation of contamination levels correlated with organic content of the particles, but some of the observed variability could be attributed to seasonal changes in pyrolytic PAH production. Sinking organic particles were potentially as readily digestible as surficial sediments for prospective consumers however, transfer of PAHs along the benthic food chain is probably enhanced because of the particles' higher nutritional value.

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► Ecogeochemical fate of PAHs was considered at a rural French Mediterranean site.
► Contaminated POM was mostly marine, despite the mainland's proximity.
► PAH fluxes are driven by seasonal emissions and sediment resuspension events.
► High POM nutritional values and PAH loads correspond to low GSRs.
► Suspended particles are organically enriched and more contaminated than sediment.