Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Antarctic Marine Sediments, 2009-2010

From December 2009 to March 2010, marine sediments were sampled at Davis Station, Antarctica, for total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) analysis. The dataset, provided by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC), contains concentrations of individual hydrocarbon components (C8-C28), naphthalene, biomarkers, and calculated ranges. Analytical methods, including gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID), and detailed uncertainty assessments are documented.

Use Cases

• Modeling hydrocarbon contamination levels in Antarctic marine sediments based on reported concentration ranges.
• Assessing site heterogeneity and analytical uncertainty for environmental monitoring studies based on the detailed reproducibility data.
• Calibrating pollution detection methods using the documented GC-FID analytical procedure and internal standards.
• Analyzing the distribution of specific hydrocarbon components (C8-C28) and biomarkers mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Detailed analytical methodology is provided, including extraction, instrumentation (Agilent 6890N GC-FID), and oven temperature program.
• Uncertainty is quantified, with analytical precision RSD as low as 0.4% and site heterogeneity reproducibility RSD of 24%.
• Reporting limits are specified for individual components (0.3 mg.kg-1) and calculated ranges (2.5-160 mg.kg-1).

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Last updated 2010-03-18 23:59:59.999000; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AU_AADC) via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Chemical analysis of homogenized wet soil samples via solvent extraction and gas chromatography.

Time Range

December 2009 to March 2010

Freshness

Last updated 2010-03-18 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Davis Station, Antarctica