INterContinental Atmospheric Transport of anthropogenic Pollutants to the Arctic (INCATPA)

• Main Authors: Hung, Hayley, Cole, Amanda, Dastoor, Ashu, Harner, Tom, Li, Yi-Fan, Ma, Jianmin, Steffen, Alexandra, Sverko, Ed, Westgate, John Norman
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2012
• Subjects: Arctic; Atmosphere; Circumpolar region; Mercury; PCBs; Persistent organic pollutants POPs; Pesticides; International Polar Year-Intercontinental Atmospheric Transport of Anthropogenic Pollutants to the Arctic; Nunavut; Yukon; Ny-Ålesund; Fairbanks; Canada; Pacific; Norway; Tagish; Amderma; Little Fox Lakes; AMAP; Barrow; Climate change; International Polar Year; IPY; Ny Ålesund; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5443/11406; https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=11406

Air monitoring of POPs and Hg has taken place at Alert, Nunavut, Canada and Ny Ålesund, Norway since the 1990s under the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) of Canada and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), respectively. Through the International Polar Year (IPY) INCATPA project, stations on both sides of the Pacific Ocean have been initiated for air sampling of POPs and mercury (Hg). These include Little Fox Lakes, Yukon (POPs and Hg); Valkarkai, Russia (POPs); Dillingham and Fairbanks, Alaska (POPs); Barrow, Alaska (Hg); Waliguan, Wudalianchi and Xuancheng, China (POPs); Mt. Changbai, China (Hg); Hedo, Japan (POPs); and Ba Vi, Vietnam (POPs). All IPY sampling activities were completed in spring 2010. A few stations continue to operate, supported by other programs, as a legacy of IPY. We continue Hg measurements in air at Whistler, B.C.; Barrow, Alaska; Amderma, Russia; and Mt. Changbai, China. At Little Fox Lakes, Yukon, Hg measurements continue under NCP. Pumped air measurements of POPs at this site completed in October 2009 and a new flowthrough-type air sampler, which can operate without electricity, was installed in an attempt to catch trans-Pacific transport in spring 2010. Mercury modelling transport studies have shown that Asia is the single greatest source of atmospheric mercury in the Arctic, contributing ~30% of the mercury input. This information is useful to policy makers at the international negotiating table striving to achieve the appropriate restrictions on release of pollutants of concern for the Arctic environment. Measurement results show that a group of toxic combustion by-product, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), detected in Yukon air was related to sources in North America, Asia and northern Europe, e.g. from wildfires in California and Asia, and oil and gas production platforms throughout the Arctic. Mercury deposition from air at Alert has changed between 1995 and 2007. This change shows a complex relationship with local temperature and wind direction. A warming Arctic may also release POPs previously deposited in ice/snow and oceans back into the air, making them once again available for circulation around the globe, altering human and wildlife exposures. The influence of climate change must be considered to reduce the exposure to toxic chemicals in the Arctic. : Purpose: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs, e.g. PCBs, pesticides and combustion by-products) and mercury (Hg) are toxic chemicals that persist in the environment and can be carried by air and water over long distances from emission sources to the remote Arctic. The presence of these pollutants in the Arctic ecosystem has raised significant international concerns in recent years, especially in circumpolar countries such as Canada. In cold environments, these chemicals can deposit onto the Arctic's surfaces and bio-accumulate in Arctic wildlife, country foods and subsequently northern people, to levels that may put their health at risk. The atmosphere is the first place that these pollutants are found. By measuring the concentration of POPs and mercury in the air, we can find out how much comes into the Arctic from external sources. Trans-Pacific transport of POPs from Asia to the Canadian Arctic has been identified at Tagish, Yukon, where high concentration episodes of banned pesticides, e.g. chlordanes, DDTs and HCHs (hexachlorocyclohexanes), have been linked to air masses passing over Asia five days previously. However, few Hg and POPs air concentration data are available from the Asian Pacific region. It was, therefore, not possible to ascertain the impact of these transport events from the pan-Pacific source regions on Arctic contamination. To address this gap in knowledge, the INterContinental Atmospheric Transport of Pollutants to the Arctic (INCATPA) project performed simultaneous air sampling for pollutants in the Canadian, American and Russian Arctic, as well as at source regions on both sides of the Pacific Ocean at the same time. This will give us information on where these chemicals have come from, how much from which region, and what climate conditions influence their movement to the Arctic. With this information, the government can create policies with other countries to limit their emissions of POPs and mercury and hopefully reduce what comes into the Arctic. Finally, with the Arctic environment changing, understanding how the behaviour of these pollutants will be affected by climate change is very important. Computer models are used to simulate pollutant movement to the Arctic to understand how prevalent they are and how climate influences their presence in the Arctic. This project aims to understand what future impacts these chemicals may have on the Arctic ecosystem and health of Northerners. : Summary: Pollutants can travel long distances by air or water from their source of emission and make their way to the Arctic. Once in the Arctic, pollutants can enter into the food chain. This project has established monitoring stations on both sides of the Pacific Ocean to measure these pollutants. Early findings show that the deposition of these pollutants depends on variables such as local temperature and wind direction. This project is determining the source of these chemicals and the influence that climate change will have on the movement and pathways of pollutants to the Arctic.