composition of hydrocarbons in soils and bottom sediments of the north crimean canal within the settlements of crimea

The north crimean canal was built to irrigate the steppe part of the crimean peninsula with the waters of the dnieper river. it was a source of water supply, so its water quality was controlled. despite the fact that sediments are a reliable indicator of chronic processes in reservoirs, the state of the canal bottom sediments has not been studied previously. the aim of this work was to determine the hydrocarbon composition of the north crimean canal bottom sediments and soils from adjacent territories to assess the level of their pollution and identify probable sources of organic pollutants in the canal bottom sediments. the content of total petroleum hydrocarbons (tphs) and n-alkanes was determined by the gas chromatography method. the tphs concentration in the soil on the bank of the north crimean canal fluctuated in range of 18,1 to 163,0 mg/kg, in canal bottom sediments – in range of 8,5 to 74,3 mg/kg. the dominant sources of organic compounds entering the canal bottom sediments were the runoff and aeolian transfer from adjacent territories, which was expressed in a high proportion of allochthonous n-alkanes in the bottom sediments. the evidence of relatively recent oil pollution in the composition of the soil and bottom sediments have been identified. according to the biodegradation parameter (ki) values, oil hydrocarbons in bottom sediments were predominantly more transformed than in soil. consequently, it could be assumed that pollution of adjacent territories was the source of oil pollution entering the canal bed.