Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in Baltic Sea blue mussels: Time series data 1981–2016

Blue mussels are a target species in contaminant monitoring regarding Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in biota, and also used as an isotope baseline for trophic position assessment in other biota. The latter is crucial for calculating biomagnification potential of environmental contaminants. This data set comprises long-term time series of PAHs (15 individual substances) in Baltic Sea blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus edulis) from Kvädöfjärden (collected from a depth of 5–10 m), a reference area along the Swedish coast in the Baltic Proper from 25 years during 1987–2016, and of stable isotopes in five individuals (2 cm mussels) per year during the time period 1981–2017. The data has been co-analysed with environmental (oceanographic) data in “The importance of adjusting contaminant concentrations using environmental data: a retrospective study of 25 years data in Baltic blue mussels” published in: Science of the Total Environment (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143913).