Please consult the PDF report in this dataset for full details on methodology

The concentration and composition of the PAHs (2- to 6-ring, parent and branched) were determined by GC-MS using an HP6890 Series gas chromatograph interfaced with an HP5973 MS and fitted with a cool on-column injector and a HP 5 MS column (30 m x 0.25 mm, 0.25 µm film thickness; Agilent, Stockport, UK). Helium was used as the carrier gas in constant flow mode (0.7 ml min-1). Injections were made at 50oC and the oven temperature held constant for three minutes. Thereafter, the temperature was raised at 20oC min-1 up to 100oC. This was followed by a slower ramp of 4oC min-1 up to 270oC, then at 40oC min-1 up to 290oC, where it was held for three minutes, then at 40oC min-1 to a final temperature of 300oC, where it was held for 22 minutes. The MS was set for selective ion monitoring (SIM) with a dwell time of 50 ms. Calibration standards, covering the concentration range 0.01 to 6.0 ng µl-1 were analysed, in triplicate, and the average response used to compute the calibration curve. Correlation coefficients of at least 0.99 were achieved for all PAHs. Instrument limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 µg kg-1 for individual PAHs.

This resource represents PAH analysis, TOC and Moisture content of sample material.

The data set is structure to include the following columns:

Sample_Identifier: Reference to analysis results in Marine Scotland Internal Laboratory Information Management system
Matrix Sample Material: The type of tissue or material analysed
Species: Scientific species name where relevant (all entries except sediment samples)
Sampling date: The date when materials were collected in the field
Sampling area description: Reference to figures/amps in report and description of location
Latitude: Latitiude expressed as decimal degrees (Northern hemisphere)
Longitude: Longitude expressed as decimal degrees, nagative values are degrees western longitude
Parameter analysed: The specific analysis/PAH analysed (Note the same sample ID were analysed for many PAHs)
Parameter value: The result of analysis. Many values indicate lower than the deterction limit. Letter codes included in the parameter value field are: M = Masked, TR = Trace, ND = Not detected
Parameter unit: The unit in which the parameter value is reported.