Atmospheric Deposition of Organochlorine Pesticides and Industrial Compounds to Seasonal Surface Snow at Four Glacier Sites on Svalbard, 2013–2014

Abstract

Winter snow from four glacial sites on Svalbard was analyzed for atmospheric deposition of 36 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 7 industrial compounds (OCICs) by GC–high-resolution MS. Thirteen of the OCPs and all OCICs were detected at all sites. Sampling sites are 230 km apart from west to east, but are at varying elevations, ranging from 700 to 1202 m a.s.l. Total OCP flux was greater than total OCIC at all sites and was 5 times greater at Lomonosovfonna, and 3 times greater at Austfonna, the most easterly site. Chlorpyrifos dominated OCP flux at Lomonosovfonna (81.7 pg cm–2 yr–1) and Kongsvegen (60.6 pg cm–2 yr–1), and at Austfonna, but not at Holtedahlfonna where dieldrin dominated. trans-chlordane was a major contributor to OCPs. These three pesticides comprised at least 50% of total OCP at each site. OCIC flux was dominated by pentachloroanisole (PCA) at Lomonosovfonna (23.5 pg cm–2 yr–1) and Kongsvegen (14.1 pg cm–2 yr–1). PCA and hexachlorobenzene comprised at least 63% of all OCICs at each site. Air mass frequency from likely source areas showed that Austfonna had the most frequent long-distance air flow, but showed lower amounts of chlorpyrifos and PCA, suggesting local sources of these compounds to other sites.

Historic Atmospheric Organochlorine Pesticide and Halogenated Industrial Compound Inputs to Glacier Ice Cores in Antarctica and the Arctic

“…The dominance of chlorpyrifos with ß-HCH and dieldrin among the highest at both sites suggests some similar usage patterns of these pesticides around the world. In an earlier investigation of OCPs in surface snow at four glacial sites on Svalbard in 2014, including Holtedahlfonna, chlorpyrifos and dieldrin were among the top three at all sites, and chlorpyrifos dominated three of them, the exception being Holtedahlfonna, dominated by dieldrin . What is clear is that chlorpyrifos and dieldrin have persistence and LRAT characteristics important in both polar regions and apparent large use around the world.…”

“…Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and halogenated (chlorine and bromine) industrial compounds (OHICs) are known to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) and are known to reach remote places by long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT). , The OCPs were deliberately released into the environment, unlike most OHICs, and are expected to be found in many environmental matrices . These PBT/LRAT features qualify substances for inclusion on the Stockholm Convention (SC) (), which has a goal to end production and environmental release of PBT compounds affected by LRAT.…”

“…These PBT/LRAT features qualify substances for inclusion on the Stockholm Convention (SC) (), which has a goal to end production and environmental release of PBT compounds affected by LRAT. While many compounds on the SC are no longer produced or used, investigations in areas remote from industrial or agricultural activities have shown that many are still moving to and being deposited in remote regions. ,− …”

Local variability in snow concentrations of chlorinated persistent organic pollutants as a source of large uncertainty in interpreting spatial patterns at all scales

“…The uncertainty in the observational data will limit the extent to which models can draw from field data in attempts to improve performance. Currently, the model performance for large scale (e.g., Arcticwide) estimations of organochlorine POP deposition falls within the range of 500-2,000% (Hansen et al, 2006(Hansen et al, , 2008, Hermanson et al (2020) whereas an investigation of atmospheric bulk deposition observations across Central Europe shows differences within the range of 140-450% PCB content as significant and below 100% for the OCPs as insignificant (Nežiková et al, 2019). The uncertainty of snow deposition models remains larger than in the case of atmospheric air concentration models.…”

Is Glacial Meltwater a Secondary Source of Legacy Contaminants to Arctic Coastal Food Webs?

“… 3 , 4 Glaciers, snow caps, and Arctic tundra contain stores of contaminants, 5 including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), that have been atmospherically transported from lower latitudes 6 and deposited on the Arctic environment. 7 − 10 Runoff from these systems potentially represents a secondary source of legacy contaminants, including hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCHs), and chlordane pesticides, to the coastal zone. 11 − 15 …”