Four Years of Active Sampling and Measurement of Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Oxygenated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica.
Environ Sci Technol
; 58(3): 1577-1588, 2024 Jan 23.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38194437
ABSTRACT
Antarctica, protected by its strong polar vortex and sheer distance from anthropogenic activity, was always thought of as pristine. However, as more data on the occurrence of persistent organic pollutants on Antarctica emerge, the question arises of how fast the long-range atmospheric transport takes place. Therefore, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oxygenated (oxy-)PAHs were sampled from the atmosphere and measured during 4 austral summers from 2017 to 2021 at the Princess Elisabeth station in East Antarctica. The location is suited for this research as it is isolated from other stations and activities, and the local pollution of the station itself is limited. A high-volume sampler was used to collect the gas and particle phase (PM10) separately. Fifteen PAHs and 12 oxy-PAHs were quantified, and concentrations ranging between 6.34 and 131 pg m3 (Σ15PAHs-excluding naphthalene) and between 18.8 and 114 pg m3 (Σ13oxy-PAHs) were found. Phenanthrene, pyrene, and fluoranthene were the most abundant PAHs. The gas-particle partitioning coefficient log(Kp) was determined for 6 compounds and was found to lie between 0.5 and -2.5. Positive matrix factorization modeling was applied to the data set to determine the contribution of different sources to the observed concentrations. A 6-factor model proved a good fit to the data set and showed strong variations in the contribution of different air masses. During the sampling campaign, a number of volcanic eruptions occurred in the southern hemisphere from which the emission plume was detected. The FLEXPART dispersion model was used to confirm that the recorded signal is indeed influenced by volcanic eruptions. The data was used to derive a transport time of between 11 and 33 days from release to arrival at the measurement site on Antarctica.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Hidrocarburos Policíclicos Aromáticos
/
Contaminantes Atmosféricos
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Sci Technol
/
Environ. sci. technol
/
Environmental science & technology
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Bélgica