Levels, sources and chemical fate of persistent organic pollutants in the atmosphere and snow along the western Antarctic Peninsula.
The Antarctic continent is among the most pristine regions; yet various organic contaminants have been measured there routinely. Air and snow samples were collected during the austral spring (October-November, 2010) along the western Antarctic Peninsula and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) to assess the relative importance of long-range transport versus local primary or secondary emissions. Highest concentrations of PCBs, PBDEs and DDTs were observed in the glacier's snow sample, highlighting the importance of melting glaciers as a possible secondary source of legacy pollutants to the Antarctic. In the atmosphere, contaminants were mainly found in the vapor phase (>65%). Hexachlorobenzene (33.6 pg/m(3)), PCBs (11.6 pg/m(3)), heptachlor (5.64 pg/m(3)), PBDEs (4.22 pg/m(3)) and cis-chlordane (2.43 pg/m(3)) were the most abundant contaminants. In contrast to other compounds, PBDEs seem to have originated from local sources, possibly the research station itself. Gas-particle partitioning for analytes were better predicted using the adsorption partitioning model than an octanol-based absorption approach. Diffusive flux calculations indicated that net deposition is the dominant pathway for PBDEs and chlordanes, whereas re-volatilization from snow (during melting or metamorphosis) was observed for PCBs and some OCPs.
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, 21511 Moharam Bek, Alexandria, Egypt.
Mohammed A
MA
Khairy
Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 1208 Great Rd, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA.
Jenna L
JL
Luek
Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 1208 Great Rd, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA.
Rebecca
R
Dickhut
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA. Electronic address: rlohmann@uri.edu.
Rainer
R
Lohmann
D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D046448:Ice Cover / Q000737:chemistry*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow / Q000737:chemistry*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Antarctic; Glacier; PCBs; PDBEs; Snow