Revealing the distribution of synthetic musks in Chinese estuarine sediments driven by natural and anthropogenic factors

Liang Wu; Xiang-Pu Zhang; Bo Peng; Ergang Lian; Heng Zhao; Bizimana Aaron; Xingpan Guo; Ganyu Feng; Xing Liu; Daidu Fan; Xiang-Zhou Meng

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125202

Revealing the distribution of synthetic musks in Chinese estuarine sediments driven by natural and anthropogenic factors

Environ Pollut. 2024 Oct 25:125202. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125202. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Liang Wu¹, Xiang-Pu Zhang², Bo Peng³, Ergang Lian⁴, Heng Zhao⁴, Bizimana Aaron⁵, Xingpan Guo³, Ganyu Feng¹, Xing Liu⁴, Daidu Fan⁶, Xiang-Zhou Meng⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
² Hubei key Laboratory of Pollution Damage Assessment and Environmental Health Risk Prevention and Control, Hubei Provincial Academy of Eco-Environmental Sciences, Wuhan 430070, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of the Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
⁴ Ecological Environment Monitoring and Scientific Research Center, Taihu Basin & East China Sea Ecological Environment Supervision and Administration Bureau, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Shanghai 200125, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Jiaxing-Tongji Environmental Research Institute, Jiaxing 314051, Zhejiang Province, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39490510
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125202

Abstract

Synthetic musks (SMs) commonly used in personal care products can accumulate in the estuarine environment, but influencing factors on their distribution at large-scale region remain largely unexplored. Herein, surface sediment samples from 18 main estuaries of China and two river outlets in the Yangtze River Estuary were collected to discern the spatial and temporal variations of SMs. Moreover, fourteen influencing factors consisting of natural and anthropogenic parameters were scrutinized and their significance were analyzed by using Spearman's rank correlation and Random Forest. The widespread distribution of SMs were observed in Chinese estuarine sediments with the levels ranging from < reporting limit to 28 ng g^-1 on a basis of dry weight (mean: 3.5 ng g^-1). Predominated polycyclic musks shared similar sources both spatially and temporally. Positive correlation was found between SMs and total organic carbon in sediments, whereas the SM distribution was strongly influenced by regional anthropogenic activities. Regional population density was the primary influencing factor, followed by gross domestic product per unit area and wet deposition of particulate matters. A good correlation between SMs and water quality category indicated SMs could serve as an indicator for water quality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify the main influencing factors on SM distribution in estuarine sediments, aiming to better understand the distribution and fate of emerging organic chemicals in the estuarine environment.

Keywords: Anthropogenic activities; Deposition; Estuary; Galaxolide; Polycyclic musks; Tonalide.