Fragrances in the seawater of Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: VECCHIATO, MARCO, GREGORIS, ELENA, BARBARO, ELENA, BARBANTE, Carlo, PIAZZA, Rossano, GAMBARO, Andrea
• Other Authors: Vecchiato, Marco, Gregoris, Elena, Barbaro, Elena, Barbante, Carlo, Piazza, Rossano, Gambaro, Andrea
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Antarctica; Fragrance Materials (FMs); Personal Care Products (PCPs); Seawater; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Chemistry; Waste Management and Disposal; Pollution; Settore CHIM/01 - Chimica Analitica; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Ross Sea; Terra Nova Bay; Mario Zucchelli; Tethys Bay; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10278/3685678; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.197

Personal Care Products are emerging pollutants whose distribution in the Antarctic and remote environments is still largely unknown. Among PCPs, long-lasting and stable Fragrance Materials were selected to perform a first pilot study on their occurrence in the coastal surface seawater of Terra Nova Bay in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Ambrofix, Amyl Salicylate, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Salicylate, Lemonile and Okoumal were detected for the first time in Antarctic natural seawater, and reached total concentrations up to 100 ng L− 1. Treated discharges from the Italian research station Mario Zucchelli (MZS) contain FMs, however concentrations in nearby Tethys Bay increase during the seasonal melt of the sea ice and its snow cover: variability in emissions and distribution, as well as a contribution from atmospheric (long or short-range) transport were hypothesized.