Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are generated during incomplete combustion derived from petrogenic or pyrogenic processes [1], and represent one out of several hundred organic compound groups contained in particulate emissions. PAHs are ubiquitous substances and thus found in different environmentally important matrices. Concentrations of PAHs show a gradient trend in different compartments and highest contributions were reported in emission and ambient samples [2, 3],while lower contributions are expected in aqueous matrices like surface snow. The investigation in which extend PAHs are dispersed and transported from one region to another however requires the development of a sensitive analytical method, which is entailed with a couple of analytical challenges. Within this talk we discuss the highlights and obstacles we had to face during method development and finally present a novel method for the simultaneous quantification of up to 42 different PAH congeners derived from surface snow samples. The method development compiles a user-friendly and efficient sample preparation technique based on a solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by the highly sensitive analysis using a gas chromatograph coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). Surface snow sampling was realized at different sampling locations across the eastern and southern part of Austria, spanning the focus from urban influenced areas to more remote ones. Therefore, a special focus is laid on the PAH patterns, since different congener compositions indicate different source contributions.
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Research Areas:
Beyond TUW-research foci: 25% Environmental Monitoring and Climate Adaptation: 75%
