Spatial and Temporal Gradients of Triazines in the Baltic Sea off Poland

The herbicides atrazine, simazine and terbuthylazine (and the degradation product deethylatrazine) were analysed in two river-to-open-sea transects and two vertical (open-sea) profiles in the southern Baltic off Poland. Samples taken in September 1995 and April 1997 contained total triazine concentrations ranging from 7 to 31 and 4.5 to 13 ng/dm³, respectively. Concentrations of the individual compounds ranged from 0 to 8 ng/dm³. These are generally higher than levels reported, for example, in the North Sea. The largest surface concentrations were found close to the Vistula and Odra river mouths, endorsing river run-off as a primary source of the triazines. Temporal variability can be related to the late-spring and early-summer agricultural applications of the compounds. Variations in ratios between the individual triazines can be explained by usage patterns and differing residence times. Offshore vertical profiles indicate enrichment of the surface layer through atmospheric triazines inputs, highest concentrations above the halocline associated with colloidal organics and lowest concentrations in the bottom waters, probably as a result of particulate scavenging. The influence of the North Sea inflow to the Baltic is also discussed.