Geochemical markers of sedimentary organic matter in Todos os Santos Bay, Bahia - Brazil. Indicators of sources and preservation.

Natural stable isotopes, such as carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), are modern tools to assess geochemical processes. C and N in organic matter can carry fingerprints of their hydrologic flows and sedimentary processes, including any anthropogenic modification on the natural system. This study focuses on the determination of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and isotopic ratio in the sediment of Todos os Santos Bay (TSB). The isotopic results of the total organic matter indicate varied contribution marine and terrigenous. Typical rates of PAHs mainly indicate a pyrogenic source and mixture between pyrogenic and petrogenic sources. Typical ratios for the n-alkanes indicate the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons. The isotopic composition of n-alkanes suggests a mixture of sources, with the possible contribution of petrogenic.

Characterization of organic matter in a sediment Core near the Mataripe refinery, Bahia-Brazil.

A sediment core was taken from the Todos os Santos Bay, near the Mataripe Bahia-Brazil refinery. The results of dating, (210)Pb and (137)Cs methods, combined with organic indicators, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), n-alkanes and total organic carbon (TOC), showed significant change with the start of production of the oil fields of Aratu, Itaparica and Dom João (1939-1947) and the construction of the Mataripe refinery (1949-1950). This event was marked by a series of significant changes, including an abrupt increase in TOC and the growth of PAH concentrations and the presence Unresolved/Resolved ratio (UR/R)>4 in n-alkanes fraction, which indicated that the contamination was of petrogenic origin. The δ(13)C of specific n-alkanes compounds showed gradual deplete with the depth.