Act now - Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Polar Regions : Workshop Report : Online Expert Workshop January 25th -26th 2022

• Main Authors: Gandraß, J., Küster, A., Ebinghaus, R., Herata, H., Xie, Z., Koschorreck, J.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon 2022
• Subjects: Antarctic; Arctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Arctic Council
• Online Access: https://publications.hereon.de/id/50329; https://publications.hzg.de/id/50329

Both the Arctic and Antarctic, once pristine habitats, are threatened by pollution from new, local emissions as well as long-range transport from the production and use of chemicals in industrial regions. The German Environment Agency (UBA) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon co-hosted the workshop „Act now – Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Polar Regions“. For the first time, international experts from contaminant research in polar regions, representatives from regulatory chemical assessment and monitoring, environmental specimen banks, and information and data platforms jointly discussed pressing chemical pollution issues in the two polar regions and opportunities for collaboration. The goal of the workshop was to provide recommendations for improving screening, monitoring, assessment, cooperation, and data sharing to provide environmental policy and chemicals management with effective and reliable pollution data to protect the polar environment. (Fig.1). Members of the European Commission, the Stock holm Convention, the Arctic Council, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, Environmental Specimen Banks and Data Centres discussed together with the research community two questions which were a common thread throughout the workshop: What are the common goals and scientific bases for chemical research and monitoring in the polar regions - and how do the respective approaches differ for the Arctic and Antarctic?