Tracking human footprints in Antarctica through passive sampling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in inland lakes

Freely dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were monitored in seven inland lakes of Antarctica by a polyethylene (PE)-based passive sampling technique, with the objective of tracking human footprints. The measured concentrations of PAHs were in the range of 14-360 ng L-1 with the highes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Pollution
Main Authors: Yao, Yao, Meng, Xiang-Zhou, Wu, Chen-Chou, Bao, Lian-Jun, Wang, Feng, Wu, Feng-Chang, Zeng, Eddy Y.
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: ELSEVIER SCI LTD 2016
Subjects:
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Inland lake
Antarctica
Freely dissolved PAHs
Passive sampling
Oil spillage
Environmental Sciences
PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS
SEA-SURFACE MICROLAYER
EAST ANTARCTICA
WATER
CONTAMINATION
EMISSIONS
DEVICES
ENGINE
SOILS
SNOW
East Antarctica
Antarc*
Online Access:http://ir.gig.ac.cn/handle/344008/54757
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.02.035
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Summary:Freely dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were monitored in seven inland lakes of Antarctica by a polyethylene (PE)-based passive sampling technique, with the objective of tracking human footprints. The measured concentrations of PAHs were in the range of 14-360 ng L-1 with the highest values concentrated around the Russian Progress II Station, indicating the significance of human activities to the loading of PAHs in Antarctica. The concentrations of PAHs in the inland lakes were in the upper part of the PAHs levels in aquatic environments from remote and background regions across the globe. The composition profiles of PAHs indicated that PAHs in the inland lakes were derived mainly from local oil spills, which was corroborated by a large number of fuel spillage reports from ship and plane crash incidents in Antarctica during recent years. Clearly, local human activities, rather than long-range transport, are the dominant sources of PAH contamination to the inland lakes. Finally, the present study demonstrates the efficacy of PE-based passive samplers for investigating PAHs in the aquatic environment of Antarctica under complex field conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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