Volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons in antarctic superficial snow sampled during Italian ITASE expeditions

• Published in: Chemosphere
• Main Authors: ZOCCOLILLO, Lelio, INSOGNA, SUSANNA, Luca Amendola, Claudia Cafaro
• Other Authors: Zoccolillo, Lelio, Luca, Amendola, Claudia, Cafaro, Insogna, Susanna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science Limited:Oxford Fulfillment Center, PO Box 800, Kidlington Oxford OX5 1DX United Kingdom:011 44 1865 843000, 011 44 1865 843699, EMAIL: [e-mail], [e-mail], INTERNET: http://www.elsevier.com, http://www.elsevier.com/locate/shpsa/, Fax: [phone] 2007
• Subjects: antarctic snow; environmental analysi; halocarbon; volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons; Antarctic; Terra Nova Bay; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11573/17220; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.12.050; http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=000246290300001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=0c7ff228ccbaaa74236f48834a34396a; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-33947151501&partnerID=65&md5=800c168be13cc8a6252b02c0b57f6a7c

In order to detect the presence of some volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons (VCHCs) and to understand their transport and deposition mechanism, superficial snow was sampled during two Italian ITASE (International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition) expeditions: the first traverse was carried out in 1998/1999 from Terra Nova Bay to Dome Concordia; the second traverse was carried out in 2001/2002 through Adélie, George V, Oates and Northern Victoria Lands. Some VCHCs (chloroform; 1,1,1-trichloroethane; tetrachloromethane; 1,1,2-trichloroethylene; tetrachloroethylene) were analysed using a highly sensitive and selective hyphenated technique composed of a purge-and-trap injector coupled to a gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometric detector (PTI-GC-MS) operating in SIM mode. Investigated VCHCs were present in all analysed snow samples with concentration levels of several units, tens, or sometimes hundreds of ng kg-1. VCHC snow concentration levels remained approximately constant with changing distance from the coast and the comparison between fresh and aged snow did not show any substantial differences; on the basis of this evidence marine aerosol and dry deposition may be rejected as principal VCHC transport and deposition mechanism hypotheses. VCHC concentration levels in Antarctic snow samples were comparable to or greater than those found in snow from temperate zones. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.