Combining monitoring data and modeling identifies PAHs as emerging contaminants in the Arctic

• Published in: Environmental Science & Technology
• Main Authors: De Laender, Frederik, Hammer, Jort, Hendriks, A Jan, Soetaert, Karline, Janssen, Colin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Earth and Environmental Sciences; POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS; PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS; TROUT ONCORHYNCHUS-MYKISS; MARINE FOOD-WEB; ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS; TEMPORAL TRENDS; BARENTS SEA; BIOACCUMULATION; BIOTRANSFORMATION; BIOMAGNIFICATION; Arctic; Barents Sea; Norwegian Sea
• Online Access: https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/1906358; http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-1906358; https://doi.org/10.1021/es202423f; https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/1906358/file/1906907

Protecting Arctic ecosystems against potential adverse effects from 12 anthropogenic activities is recognized as a top priority. In particular, understanding 13 the accumulation and effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in these 14 otherwise pristine ecosystems remains a scientific challenge. Here, we combine more 15 than 20 000 tissue concentrations, a food web bioaccumulation model, and time trend 16 analyses to demonstrate that the concentrations of legacy-POPs in the Barents/17 Norwegian Sea fauna decreased 10-fold between 1985 and 2010, which reflects 18 regulatory efforts to restrict these substances. In contrast, concentrations of fossil fuel 19 derived PAHs in lower trophic levels (invertebrates and fish) increased 10 to 30 fold 20 over the past 25 years and now dominate the summed POP burden (25 POPs, 21 including 11 PAHs) in these biota. Before 2000, PCBs dominated the summed POP 22 burden in top predators. Our findings indicate that the debate on the environmental 23 impacts of fossil fuel burning should move beyond the expected seawater temperature 24 increase and examine the possible environmental impact of fossil fuel derived PAHs.