Inputs, amplification and sinks of perfluoroalkyl substances at coastal Antarctica

• Published in: Environmental Pollution
• Main Authors: Casas, Gemma, Iriarte, Jon, D'Agostino, Lisa A., Roscales, Jose L., Martínez-Varela, Alicia, Vila-Costa, Maria, Martin, Jonathan W., Jiménez, Begoña, Dachs, Jordi
• Other Authors: orcid:
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2023
• Subjects: Southern ocean; Amplification; Antarctica; Coastal; Degradation; Lakes; Long-range transport; Marine bacteria; PFAAs; PFAS; PFOA; PFOS; POPs; Seawater; Snow; http://metadata.un.org/sdg/6; Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; Antarctic; Austral; Deception Island; Livingston Island; Southern Ocean; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/337163; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122608; https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85172997323

The sources, biogeochemical controls and sinks of perfluoroalkyl substances, such as perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), in polar coastal regions are largely unknown. These were evaluated by measuring a large multi-compartment dataset of PFAAs concentrations at coastal Livingston and Deception Islands (maritime Antarctica) during three austral summers. PFAAs were abundant in atmospheric-derived samples (aerosols, rain, snow), consistent with the importance of atmospheric deposition as an input of PFAAs to Antarctica. Such PFAAs deposition was unequivocally demonstrated by the occurrence of PFAAs in small Antarctic lakes. Several lines of evidence supported the relevant amplification of PFAAs concentrations in surface waters driven by snow scavenging of sea-spray aerosol-bound PFAAs followed by snow-melting. For example, vertical profiles showed higher PFAAs concentrations at lower-salinity surface seawaters, and PFAAs concentrations in snow were significantly higher than in seawater. The higher levels of PFAAs at Deception Island than at Livingston Island are consistent with the semi-enclosed nature of the bay. Concentrations of PFOS decreased from 2014 to 2018, consistent with observations in other oceans. The sink of PFAAs due to the biological pump, transfer to the food web, and losses due to sea-spray aerosols alone are unlikely to have driven the decrease in PFOS concentrations. An exploratory assessment of the potential sinks of PFAAs suggests that microbial degradation of perfluoroalkyl sulfonates should be a research priority for the evaluation of PFAAs persistence in the coming decade. This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) through projects REMARCA (CTM2012-34673), SENTINEL (CTM2015-70535) and ANTOM (PGC2018-096612-B-100). The research group of Global Change and Genomic Biogeochemistry receives support from the Catalan Government (2017SGR800). IDAEA-CSIC is a Centre of Excellence Severo Ochoa (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Project ...