Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation in the Sea-Surface Microlayer at Coastal Antarctica.

ABSTRACT: As much as 400 Tg of carbon from airborne semivolatile aromatic hydrocarbons is deposited to the oceans every year, the largest identified source of anthropogenic organic carbon to the ocean. Microbial degradation is a key sink of these pollutants in surface waters, but has received little attention in polar environments. We have challenged Antarctic microbial communities from the sea-surface microlayer (SML) and the subsurface layer (SSL) with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at environmentally relevant concentrations. PAH degradation rates and the microbial responses at both taxonomical and functional levels were assessed. Evidence for faster removal rates was observed in the SML, with rates 2.6-fold higher than in the SSL. In the SML, the highest removal rates were observed for t

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Varela A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9329070 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature