Geoscience Australia's marine survey S282 collected sediment samples from the Arafura Sea. The dataset documents the detection of various organic contaminants, such as fatty acid amides, antioxidants, and UV absorbers, introduced during sampling and handling. It also includes an assessment of potential contamination sources, including plastic bags and sunscreen, to distinguish these from natural hydrocarbon seepage evidence.
Use Cases
- Identify sources of sample-handling contamination based on detected compounds like fatty acid amides and Irganox 1076.
- Distinguish anthropogenic contaminants from natural petroleum biomarkers in marine sediments based on described hydrocarbon series.
- Develop protocols for cleaner sample collection in marine surveys based on the identified contamination pathways from plastic bags and sunscreen.
- Study the distribution of specific contaminants like butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and octyl methoxycinnamate in a marine survey context.
Strengths
- Identifies specific contaminant compounds, including fatty acid amides, butylated hydroxytoluene, and Irganox 1076.
- Traces contamination to concrete sources such as specific plastic bag brands and sunscreen.
- Includes analysis of hydrocarbon compounds like branched alkanes with quaternary carbon atoms (BAQCs) that could be mistaken for natural petroleum.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
- Source
- Geoscience Australia Data
- Collection Method
- Sediment samples collected during marine survey S282, with subsequent solvent extraction and chemical analysis.
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-04-30 15:00:49.769237; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Arafura Sea