| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Björnsdotter, Maria, 1989-, et al.
(author)
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Levels and Seasonal Trends of C1-C4 Perfluoroalkyl Acids and the Discovery of Trifluoromethane Sulfonic Acid in Surface Snow in the Arctic
- 2021
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In: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 55:23, s. 15853-15861
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- C1-C4 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are highly persistent chemicals that have been found in the environment. To date, much uncertainty still exists about their sources and fate. The importance of the atmospheric degradation of volatile precursors to C1-C4 PFAAs were investigated by studying their distribution and seasonal variation in remote Arctic locations. C1-C4 PFAAs were measured in surface snow on the island of Spitsbergen in the Norwegian Arctic during January-August 2019. Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPrA), perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), and trifluoromethane sulfonic acid (TFMS) were detected in most samples, including samples collected at locations presumably receiving PFAA input solely from long-range processes. The flux of TFA, PFPrA, PFBA, and TFMS per precipitation event was in the ranges of 22-1800, 0.79-16, 0.19-170, and 1.5-57 ng/m2, respectively. A positive correlation between the flux of TFA, PFPrA, and PFBA with downward short-wave solar radiation was observed. No correlation was observed between the flux of TFMS and solar radiation. These findings suggest that atmospheric transport of volatile precursors and their subsequent degradation plays a major role in the global distribution of C2-C4 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids and their consequential deposition in Arctic environments. The discovery of TFMS in surface snow at these remote Arctic locations suggests that TFMS is globally distributed. However, the transport mechanism to the Arctic environment remains unknown.
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| 3. |
- Carlsson, Pernilla, et al.
(author)
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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as sentinels for the elucidation of Arctic environmental change processes : a comprehensive review combined with ArcRisk project results
- 2018
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 25:23, s. 22499-22528
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be used as chemical sentinels for the assessment of anthropogenic influences on Arctic environmental change. We present an overview of studies on PCBs in the Arctic and combine these with the findings from ArcRisk-a major European Union-funded project aimed at examining the effects of climate change on the transport of contaminants to and their behaviour of in the Arctic-to provide a case study on the behaviour and impact of PCBs over time in the Arctic. PCBs in the Arctic have shown declining trends in the environment over the last few decades. Atmospheric long-range transport from secondary and primary sources is the major input of PCBs to the Arctic region. Modelling of the atmospheric PCB composition and behaviour showed some increases in environmental concentrations in a warmer Arctic, but the general decline in PCB levels is still the most prominent feature. 'Within-Arctic' processing of PCBs will be affected by climate change-related processes such as changing wet deposition. These in turn will influence biological exposure and uptake of PCBs. The pan-Arctic rivers draining large Arctic/sub-Arctic catchments provide a significant source of PCBs to the Arctic Ocean, although changes in hydrology/sediment transport combined with a changing marine environment remain areas of uncertainty with regard to PCB fate. Indirect effects of climate change on human exposure, such as a changing diet will influence and possibly reduce PCB exposure for indigenous peoples. Body burdens of PCBs have declined since the 1980s and are predicted to decline further.
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| 4. |
- Ebinghaus, Ralf, et al.
(author)
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Berlin statement on legacy and emerging contaminants in polar regions
- 2023
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In: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 327
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Polar regions should be given greater consideration with respect to the monitoring, risk assessment, and management of potentially harmful chemicals, consistent with requirements of the precautionary principle. Protecting the vulnerable polar environments requires (i) raising political and public awareness and (ii) restricting and preventing global emissions of harmful chemicals at their sources. The Berlin Statement is the outcome of an international workshop with representatives of the European Commission, the Arctic Council, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), environmental specimen banks, and data centers, as well as scientists from various international research institutions. The statement addresses urgent chemical pollution issues in the polar regions and provides recommendations for improving screening, monitoring, risk assessment, research cooperation, and open data sharing to provide environmental policy makers and chemicals management decision-makers with relevant and reliable contaminant data to better protect the polar environments. The consensus reached at the workshop can be summarized in just two words: “Act now!”Specifically, “Act now!” to reduce the presence and impact of anthropogenic chemical pollution in polar regions by.•Establishing participatory co-development frameworks in a permanent multi-disciplinary platform for Arctic-Antarctic collaborations and establishing exchanges between the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) of the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AnMAP) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to increase the visibility and exchange of contaminant data and to support the development of harmonized monitoring programs.•Integrating environmental specimen banking, innovative screening approaches and archiving systems, to provide opportunities for improved assessment of contaminants to protect polar regions.
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| 5. |
- Fiedler, Heidelore, Dr. 1953-, et al.
(author)
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The Stockholm Convention : A Tool for the Global Regulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants
- 2019
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In: Chemistry International. - : Walter de Gruyter. - 0193-6484 .- 1365-2192. ; 41:2, s. 4-11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is to eliminate persistent organic chemicals worldwide by either prohibiting their production and use or gradually reducing them. The Stockholm Convention was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2004, 90 days after receiving the 50th instrument of ratification. The Parties to the Convention have to regularly report progress in implementation of their measures taken to achieve the goals. The Convention has a mechanism to add more compounds; today 28 POPs are covered, 16 more than the initial ones.
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| 6. |
- Granelli, Lisa, 1979-
(author)
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Chemical reactivities as a mirror of environmental transformations - method development and assessment of some selected organohalogens
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The assement of chemical persistence is an important part of legislative protection of the environment and human health. Of the vast number of chemicals on the market today few have been properly assessed. The coordination between testing guidelines from different frameworks is limited and especially the methods for determination of biodegradation show poor reproducibility because of their highly complex nature. In order to circumvent the multifactorial assessment methods that involve the use of e.g. soils and sediments an attempt to create a new approach to chemicals assessment was postulated by Green and Bergman in 2005. This approach puts the focus on testing the chemical reactivity of the compound in environmentally relevant transformation/degradation reactions, i.e. reduction, oxidation, hydrolysis-substitution-elimination (hse), radical reactions, and photolysis. These tests are to be performed in controlled abiotic laboratory experiments ensuring that the results reflect the transformation rate of the intended type of reaction for the investigated substance. To achieve an assessment of the presistence of the compound, the test results are then combined with data on physicochemical properties of the compound and a mathematic matrix describing the reactive power of the different types of reactions in each environmental compartment (air, water, soil, and sediment). Thus far methods for testing of oxidation, photolysis, and hydrolysis-substitution-elimination reactions have been developed. Within this thesis a method for determining reduction was developed and further utilised to determine transformation products from reductive debromination of the three nonabrominated diphenyl ethers. The previously established method for hse was evaluated and further developed in a study of selected chlorobenzenes. Some novel brominated flame retardants were investigated using the previously developed photolysis method, and transformation products and quantum yields were determined. All of the papers presented within this thesis intend to build on the project of a new persistency assessment model. The results presented also contributes important information on the properties and transformation of some common organohalogen pollutants.
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| 7. |
- Hartz, William F., et al.
(author)
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Levels and distribution profiles of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in a high Arctic Svalbard ice core
- 2023
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 871
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of persistent organic contaminants of which some are toxic and bioaccumulative. Several PFAS can be formed from the atmospheric degradation of precursors such as fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) as well as hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFCs) and other ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) replacement compounds. Svalbard ice cores have been shown to provide a valuable record of long-range atmospheric transport of contaminants to the Arctic. This study uses a 12.3 m ice core from the remote Lomonosovfonna ice cap on Svalbard to understand the atmospheric deposition of PFAS in the Arctic. A total of 45 PFAS were targeted, of which 26 were detected, using supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) MS/MS. C2 to C11 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) were detected continuously in the ice core and their fluxes ranged from 2.5 to 8200 ng m-2 yr-1 (9.51-16,500 pg L-1). Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) represented 71 % of the total mass of C2 - C11 PFCAs in the ice core and had increasing temporal trends in deposition. The distribution profile of PFCAs suggested that FTOHs were likely the atmospheric precursor to C8 - C11 PFCAs, whereas C2 - C6 PFCAs had alternative sources, such as HFCs and other CFC replacement compounds. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was also widely detected in 82 % of ice core subsections, and its isomer profile (81 % linear) indicated an electrochemical fluorination manufacturing source. Comparisons of PFAS concentrations with a marine aerosol proxy showed that marine aerosols were insignificant for the deposition of PFAS on Lomonosovfonna. Comparisons with a melt proxy showed that TFA and PFOS were mobile during meltwater percolation. This indicates that seasonal snowmelt and runoff from post-industrial accumulation on glaciers could be a significant seasonal source of PFAS to ecosystems in Arctic fjords.
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| 8. |
- Hung, Hayley, et al.
(author)
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Climate change influence on the levels and trends of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and chemicals of emerging Arctic concern (CEACs) in the Arctic physical environment : a review
- 2022
-
In: Environmental Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2050-7887 .- 2050-7895. ; 24:10, s. 1577-1615
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Climate change brings about significant changes in the physical environment in the Arctic. Increasing temperatures, sea ice retreat, slumping permafrost, changing sea ice regimes, glacial loss and changes in precipitation patterns can all affect how contaminants distribute within the Arctic environment and subsequently impact the Arctic ecosystems. In this review, we summarized observed evidence of the influence of climate change on contaminant circulation and transport among various Arctic environment media, including air, ice, snow, permafrost, fresh water and the marine environment. We have also drawn on parallel examples observed in Antarctica and the Tibetan Plateau, to broaden the discussion on how climate change may influence contaminant fate in similar cold-climate ecosystems. Significant knowledge gaps on indirect effects of climate change on contaminants in the Arctic environment, including those of extreme weather events, increase in forests fires, and enhanced human activities leading to new local contaminant emissions, have been identified. Enhanced mobilization of contaminants to marine and freshwater ecosystems has been observed as a result of climate change, but better linkages need to be made between these observed effects with subsequent exposure and accumulation of contaminants in biota. Emerging issues include those of Arctic contamination by microplastics and higher molecular weight halogenated natural products (hHNPs) and the implications of such contamination in a changing Arctic environment is explored.
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| 9. |
- Kärrman, Anna, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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PFASs in the Nordic environment : Screening of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) and Extractable Organic Fluorine (EOF) in the Nordic Environment
- 2019
-
Reports (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This report describes a screening study of in all ninety-nine conventional and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the Nordic environment. In addition, extractable organic fluorine (EOF) was analysed. The latter can provide the amount, but not identity, of organofluorine in the samples, which in turn can be used to assess the mass balance between known and unknown PFASs. The study was initiated by the Nordic Screening Group and funded by these and the Nordic Council of Ministers through the Chemicals Group. A total of 102 samples were analyzed in this study, including bird eggs, fish, marine mammals, terrestrial mammals, surface water, WWTP effluents and sludge, and air. Samples were collected by institutes from the participating countries and self-governing areas; Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
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| 10. |
- Newton, Seth, 1982-
(author)
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Occurrence and fate of emerging and legacy flame retardants : from indoor environments to remote areas
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals that can be found in various matrices in all corners of the planet, including remote areas such as the Arctic. Several POPs are known and monitored but given the abundance of new chemicals in commerce about which little is known, chemicals that may be new POPs are constantly being screened for. The use of flame retardants, particularly brominated flame retardants (BFRs), has been increasing for decades. PBDEs and HBCDDs are two types of BFRs that have historically been used in large volumes but recently faced legislative restrictions. However, in order to meet fire safety standards, these BFRs have been replaced by a variety of emerging flame retardants (EFRs) about which little is known especially concerning their toxicity, production volumes, and environmental behavior. The main purpose of this thesis was to investigate the occurrence and fate in indoor and outdoor environments of several EFRs and compare them with PBDEs, HBCDDs, and legacy POPs.Several indoor environments in the city of Stockholm, Sweden were sampled for dust, indoor air, and ventilation system air (Paper II). Results from these samples revealed a number of EFRs that humans are exposed to and that are emitted from buildings through ventilation systems. These included DDC-CO, DBE-DBCH, PBT, HBB, EHTBB, and BEH-TEBP. PBDE levels seem to be declining compared to previous studies in Stockholm. Outdoor air and soil were sampled across transects of Stockholm (Paper II) and Birmingham, United Kingdom (Paper III). Results from these samples showed the presence of many of the same EFRs in the outdoor environment that were found in indoor environments. Urban pulses in air were discovered for PBDEs in both cities and for some EFRs in Stockholm, indicating that the cities are sources of EFRs to the outdoor environment. Atmospheric deposition samples were taken at two sites in northern Sweden (Paper I). Three EFRs (DDC-CO, DBE-DBCH, and BTBPE) and two current-use pesticides (trifluralin and chlorothalonil) were identified, indicating these compounds’ potential for long range transport and global contamination. Other legacy POPs such as HCH, PCBs, and PBDEs were measured in the deposition samples as well. The bulk of deposition was comprised of HCH and PCBs with only minor contributions from PBDEs, chlordanes, and emerging compounds. Finally, passive and active air sampling methods were compared for BFRs in offices in Beijing, China. Some EFRs were identified in indoor air from China; however, BDE-209 was the most predominant compound found (Paper IV). Air samples collected with passive samplers generally had measured FR concentrations within a factor of 2-3 of those collected with active samplers. The use of a GFF in the passive samplers resulted in concentrations of particle-bound contaminants such as BDE-209 that were more comparable to those in active samples. The positioning of the PUF in the passive samplers affected the sampling rates for gaseous compounds and particle retention on PUFs was shown to be a large source of uncertainty in passive sampling.
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| 11. |
- Nordlöf, Ulrika, 1969-
(author)
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Levels of organohalogen compounds in White-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in relation to reproduction impairment in the Bothnian Sea
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is in the top of the marine food chain and its existence in Sweden has been threatened several times. The species succeeded to recover from the deep decline in the 1970s when the exposure to persistent organic pollutants influenced the reproduction negatively. The species is today spread over the country but is still seen as a near threatened species. Even though a recovery has occurred there is still some reproduction problems seen in the region of the south Bothnian Sea. The work presented in this thesis has focused on expanding the knowledge of bromine and chlorine containing compounds in the white-tailed sea eagles and to correlate the levels found with the reproduction impairment in the region of south Bothnian Sea. Eggs and blood from nestlings collected from different subpopulations, from the Arctic (Lapland) in the north to the Baltic Proper in the south of Sweden, have been studied for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD), dibenzofurans (PCDF), non-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), brominated flame retardants, methoxylated- (MeO-), and hydroxylated- (OH)-polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Some of the investigated compounds have been compared with levels found in a unique white-tailed sea eagle egg collected in the Baltic Proper in 1941. The pattern and levels of PCDD and PCDF in 1941 were similar and in the same range as found today around the same area. Furthermore, the human activity has raised the PCB levels in the white-tailed sea eagles with over 120 times over the last 60 years but these levels are still much lower than in the 1970s. In conclusion none of the investigated compounds in this thesis could be correlated to the reduced reproduction seen in the south Bothnian Sea but the levels of PCDD, PCDF, non-ortho-PCB and OH-PBDE are high in the populations inhabiting the Baltic Sea and are in the same range as found to cause different biological responses in other avian species worldwide.
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| 12. |
- Norström, Karin, 1972-
(author)
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Bis(4-chlorophenyl) sulfone and PCB methyl sulfone metabolites : Trends and chirality in the Baltic Sea environment
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Baltic Sea was earlier identified as a highly polluted brackish water body and still is. The high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p,p’-DDT and related compounds led to severe effects on several species in the Baltic region. However, the situation has improved significantly since the 1970’s resulting in lower exposures to a range of pollutants and healthier wildlife populations. Independent of this positive trend there are still new chemicals leaking into the Baltic Sea environment. The objective of this thesis is to improve the knowledge of sulfone containing compounds and pollutant metabolites in wildlife, with special interest in bis(4-chlorophenyl) sulfone (BCPS) distribution, temporal trend and exposure levels, and the methylsulfonyl-PCBs (MeSO2-PCBs). The latter are of particular interest for chiral MeSO2-PCBs. BCPS is used for the production of high temperature polymers and was detected as an environmental contaminant ten years ago. PCBs, p,p’-DDT and related compounds are still of scientific interest. BCPS is biomagnified and especially in the bird guillemot which has levels of up to 2000 ng BCPS/g fat compared to the grey seal with concentrations of about 60 ng/g fat. The seal levels are similar to the herring, the prey of the bird and seal, with concentrations of 30 ng BCPS/g fat. The guillemot concentration of BCPS has been similar over the last 30 years with a minimal, but significant, annual decline of 1.6%. The reason for the slow decline is not yet understood. Also MeSO2-PCBs and 3-MeSO2-DDE show a small decrease over time in guillemot egg (3 and 9%, respectively), which is less then for the parent compounds. This shows that the sulfone metabolites are more persistent than their precursors in the guillemot. Furthermore, all these sulfone containing compounds showed a specific retention to liver comparing different tissues in grey seal. The atropisomers of the chiral MeSO2-PCB were analysed in both the guillemot and the grey seal and showed to occur in a skewed relationship. This is particularly pronounced in seals where one atropisomer of each chiral congener is very dominating. The dominating atropisomers have been identified with an absolute R configuration, in both grey seal and guillemot. An enantioselective metabolism was indicated to occur when experimentally tested by CB-132 in rat. This thesis is stressing the high specificity in wildlife for one atropisomer in the pair of chiral PCB methyl sulfones being PCB metabolites, and the high BCPS concentrations in guillemot hatching in the Baltic proper.
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| 13. |
- Platt, Stephen M., et al.
(author)
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Atmospheric composition in the European Arctic and 30 years of the Zeppelin Observatory, Ny-Ålesund
- 2022
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 22:5, s. 3321-3369
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Zeppelin Observatory (78.90∘ N, 11.88∘ E) is located on Zeppelin Mountain at 472 m a.s.l. on Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Established in 1989, the observatory is part of Ny-Ålesund Research Station and an important atmospheric measurement site, one of only a few in the high Arctic, and a part of several European and global monitoring programmes and research infrastructures, notably the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP); the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP); the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW); the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS); the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) network; and the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS). The observatory is jointly operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), Stockholm University, and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). Here we detail the establishment of the Zeppelin Observatory including historical measurements of atmospheric composition in the European Arctic leading to its construction. We present a history of the measurements at the observatory and review the current state of the European Arctic atmosphere, including results from trends in greenhouse gases, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), other traces gases, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals, aerosols and Arctic haze, and atmospheric transport phenomena, and provide an outline of future research directions.
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| 14. |
- Reist, James D., et al.
(author)
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SWIPA Synthesis: Implications of Findings
- 2011
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In: Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (swipa): Climate Change and the Cryosphere. - 9788279710714 ; , s. 1-15
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)
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| 15. |
- Ripszam, Matyas, 1986-
(author)
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Bioavailability of organic contaminants in a changing climate
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The effects of predicted future climate change was investigated with special emphasis on the association of organic contaminants with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the Baltic Sea.An automated method was developed for the measurements of DOC - water distribution constants at realistic DOC concentrations in brackish water. The method proved to be valid for 30 organic contaminants with different structural elements in the 5 – 100 mg car bon/L DOC concentration range. There were limitations of this method. Firstly, its applicability is limited towards contaminants with lower affinity to DOC. Secondly, at higher (>100 mg carbon/L) DOC concentrations the sorption of contaminants was underest imated.Afterwards, water samples were collected from 15 points within the Baltic Sea in a north - south gradient t o examine the spatial differences in DOC characteristics and sorption properties . The DOC samples were analyzed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance and ultraviolet spectroscopy. Results from both techniques indicated that the aromatic nature of the DOC pool increased towards the northern Baltic Sea. This was expected as the freshwater inflow has high significance in controlling the hydrograp hic conditions in the Bothnian Bay. Sorption of organic contaminants was subsequently measured in the same samples. The results showed decreased sorption from north to south for hydrophobic contaminants such as chlorinated benzenes but for contaminants lik e tributyl - phosphate no spatial tendencies were observed. The data generated was used to determine molecular descriptors of DOC using linear free energy relationships. The results indicated a higher significance of hy drogen bond donor/acceptor functional g roups of the DOC in the south.Changes in contaminant distribution were simulated in model pelagic ecosystems at possible endpoints predicted by future climate change scenarios. Separate and combined effects of temperature a nd DOC were studied in mesocosms. The results indicated interesting tendencies. Increased temperature resulted in increased losses in the amounts of organic contaminants. Increased DOC levels promoted sedimentation and sorption of contaminants to particulate matter and biota. Hi gher amounts of contaminants were retained. The combined effects of the two factors led to and overall decrease in dissolved amounts. Higher losses or increased sedimentation and sorption to particles were also observed depending on contaminant properties.
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| 16. |
- Rohler, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Non-target and suspect characterisation of organic contaminants in Arctic air - Part 2 : Application of a new tool for identification and prioritisation of chemicals of emerging Arctic concern in air
- 2020
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 20:14, s. 9031-9049
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Norwegian Arctic possesses a unique environment for the detection of new potential chemicals of emerging Arctic concern (CEACs) due to remoteness, sparse population and the low number of local contamination sources. Hence, a contaminant present in Arctic air is still considered a priority indication for its environmental stability and environmental mobility. Today, legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and related conventional environmental pollutants are already well-studied because of their identification as Arctic pollutants in the 1980s. Many of them are implemented and reported in various national and international monitoring activities including the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). These standard monitoring schemes, however, are based on compound-specific quantitative analytical methods. Under such conditions, the possibility for the identification of hitherto unidentified contaminants is limited and random at best. Today, new and advanced technological developments allow a broader, unspecific analytical approach as either targeted multicomponent analysis or suspect and non-target screening strategies. In order to facilitate such a wide range of compounds, a wide-scope sample clean-up method for high-volume air samples based on a combination of adsorbents was applied, followed by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography separation and low-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection (GC x GC-LRMS). During the study reported here, simultaneous non-target and suspect screening were applied. The detection of over 700 compounds of interest in the particle phase and over 1200 compounds in the gaseous phase is reported. Of those, 62 compounds were confirmed with reference standards and 90 compounds with a probable structure (based upon mass spectrometric interpretation and library spectrum comparison). These included compounds already detected in Arctic matrices and compounds not detected previously (see also Fig. 1). In addition, 241 compounds were assigned a tentative structure or compound class. Hitherto unknown halogenated compounds, which are not listed in the mass spectral libraries used, were also detected and partly identified.
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| 17. |
- Weinbruch, Stephan, et al.
(author)
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Chemical composition and sources of aerosol particles at Zeppelin Mountain (Ny Alesund, Svalbard) : An electron microscopy study
- 2012
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In: Atmospheric Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 1352-2310 .- 1873-2844. ; 49, s. 142-150
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aerosol particles were collected at the Zeppelin Mountain Atmospheric Research Station (474 m asl) near Ny Alesund (Svalbard, Norway) on 27 different days between July 2007 and December 2008. The size, morphology and chemical composition of 57,617 individual particles were studied by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis. Based on chemical composition, morphology, mixing state and stability under electron bombardment, the particles were assigned to one of the following groups: sea salt, aged sea salt, Ca sulphates, Na sulphates, carbonates, soot, silicates, fly ashes, secondary aerosol, secondary aerosol plus sodium, secondary aerosol plus soot, mixed particles and others. Sea salt, aged sea salt, silicates and mixed particles (mixtures of sea salt, silicates and Ca sulphates) are the most abundant groups for particles with aerodynamic diameters > 0.5 mu m, secondary aerosol, mixed particles and secondary aerosol with soot inclusions below 0.5 mu m. Silicate fly ashes (major source coal burning) and metal fly ashes (from metallurgical high temperature processes) occur only at very low number concentrations. In contrast to previous work, the fly ash abundance is not correlated with air masses that crossed industrialized regions in Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia or Russia. These observations indicate a significant reduction of long-range transport of heavy metals to Svalbard. Soot (external and internally mixed with secondary aerosol) shows a pronounced seasonal pattern with a much lower abundance during summer compared to spring, autumn and winter. The soot abundance is not correlated with the air mass back-trajectories. During summer (July and August), soot was only observed when cruise ships were present in the area around Ny Alesund (Kongsfjorden). Pronounced seasonal patterns were observed for the abundance of the mineral dust component which is generally lower in summer compared to the other seasons. The observed seasonal dependence of anthropogenic primary particles (soot, fly ashes) is in good agreement with the Arctic circulation pattern.
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