M. Cheraghi - ۱-Department of Nature Engineering, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran.
A. R. Riyahi Bakhtiaria - ۲-Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources and Marine Science, TarbiatModares University, P.O. Box ۴۶۴۱۴-۳۵۶, Noor, Mazandaran, Iran
J. Mohammadi - ۳-Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord ۸۸۱۸۶۳۴۱۴۱, Iran
M. Memariani - ۴-Geosciences division of Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, Tehran, Iran

Given the entrance of oil to the northwest of the Persian Gulf from the oilfields in this ecosystem,an investigation was carried out in 2017 to evaluate the historical records of hydrocarbons, source identification, and chemical fingerprinting. To these purposes, sediment core samples were collected from the northwest of the Persian Gulf. Then, compounds (n-alkanes, PAHs, hopane, and sterane) were extracted with a Soxhlet system and two-step column chromatography and were analyzed by a GC-MS instrument in a laboratory. Also, oil samples from five oilfields in the study area were analyzed for the chemical fingerprinting goal. Overall, the results showed petrogenetic sources in recent years in the Persian Gulf. Common petrogenic hydrocarbon source was strongly suggested in all layers by the presence of unresolved compounds resolved (UCM), lower molecular weight/higher molecular weight (LMW/HMW) and carbon preference index (CPI) ratios of n-Alkanes and PAHs in source identification can be effective in precisely specifying hydrocarbon sources in complicated mixtures ecosystems. Furthermore, multivariate analysis and chemical fingerprinting of n-alkanes, PAHs, hopanes, and sterane confirmed that the Hendijan crude oil can be a source of the sediment pollution in the study site.

Source identification, Sediment core, Diagnostic ratios, PCA, Fingerprinting technique, Persian Gulf