Occurence of legacy and emerging persistent organic pollutants at the Ross Sea and circumpolar deep water convergence (Antarctica)

• Main Authors: Alessandra, Cincinelli, GIANNARELLI, STEFANIA, Martellini, T., FRANCESCONI, SANDRO, MUSCATELLO, BEATRICE, FUOCO, ROGER
• Other Authors: International Advisory Board and Dioxin20XX.org, Giannarelli, Stefania, Francesconi, Sandro, Muscatello, Beatrice, Fuoco, Roger
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: Dioxin 20XX 2014
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Ross Sea; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice Shelf
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11568/793271; http://dioxin20xx.org/publication_posts/occurrence-of-legacy-and-emerging-persistent-organic-pollutants-at-ross-sea-and-circumpolar-deep-water-convergence-antarctica/

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have attracted the attention of scientists and policy makers in recent decades due to their extreme persistence, semi-volatility, capacity to bio-accumulate in the food chain, and toxic properties. Despite its geographical isolation, extreme meteorological conditions and an almost total absence of local point sources, the Antarctic continent is vulnerable to contamination by POPs, due to the ability of these chemicals to undergo long range atmospheric transport (LRAT) and deposition in the open sea. In a few cases and for limited areas, POPs may be also introduced into the Antarctic ecosystem by human activities (scientific stations, fishing, tourism, accidental oil pills, waste incineration and sewage). Even if various studiesi.e.1,2,3,4,5 have revealed the presence of POPs in air, seawater, sediments and biota in Antarctica, more investigations are needed to implement the number of observations, integrate the data series and meet the indications of the Stockholm Convention and the UNECE protocol in terms of improving knowledge of the temporal and spatial trends of POPs in biotic and abiotic environmental compartments. In this study we present POP concentrations in water samples collected along vertical water columns from seven oceanographic stations located in the Ross Sea and close to the Circumpolar Convergence (see Figure 1). Moreover, the occurrence of emerging and legacy POPs, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) were investigated in order to evaluate their possible sources and relationship with physical and biological processes taking place in the water column. The Ross sea is the formation site of two shelf waters which constitute an important part of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABWs): the High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW), which is relatively cold and generated inside the Ross Sea basin and the Ice Shelf ...