| 1. |
- Ahrens, Lutz, et al.
(author)
-
Distribution of polyfluoroalkyl compounds in water, suspended particulate matter and sediment from Tokyo Bay, Japan
- 2010
-
In: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 79:3, s. 266-272
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examined the environmental behaviour and fate of polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) found in water, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediment. The sampling of the sediment was performed at two stations from Tokyo Bay, Japan, in 2008. In addition, a depth profile of seawater was collected at three water layers from both sampling stations. The ∑PFC concentrations ranged from 16.7 to 42.3 ng L-1 in the water column, from 6.4 to 15.1 ng g-1 dry weight (dw) in the SPM fraction and from 0.29 to 0.36 dw in surface sediment. The distribution of PFCs was found to depend on their physicochemical characteristics. While short-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) (C < 7) were exclusively detected in the dissolved phase, longer-chain PFCAs (C ≥ 7), perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), ethylperfluorooctane sulfonamidoacetic acid (EtFOSAA), and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA) appeared to bind more strongly to particles. Results showed that the sorption of PFCs on SPM increases by 0.52-0.75 log units for each additional CF2 moiety and that the sorption of PFSAs was 0.71-0.76 log units higher compared to the PFCA analogs. In addition, the sorption of PFCs was influenced by the organic carbon content. These data are essential for modelling the transport and environmental fate of PFCs.
|
|
| 2. |
- Ahrens, Lutz, et al.
(author)
-
Partitioning Behavior of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Compounds between Pore Water and Sediment in Two Sediment Cores from Tokyo Bay, Japan
- 2009
-
In: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 43:18, s. 6969-6975
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The partitioning behavior of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) between pore water and sediment in two sediment cores collected from Tokyo Bay, Japan, was investigated. In addition, the fluxes and temporal trends in one dated sediment core were studied. Short-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) (C ≤ 7) were found exclusively in pore water, while long-chain PFCAs (C ≥ 11) were found only in sediment. The perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), n-ethylperfluoro-1-octanesulfonamidoacetic acid (N-EtFOSAA), and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA) seemed to bind more strongly to sediment than PFCAs. The enrichment of PFCs on sediment increased with increasing organic matter and decreasing pH. The perfluorocarbon chain length and functional group were identified as the dominating parameters that had an influence on the partitioning behavior of the PFCs in sediment. The maximum ΣPFC contamination in sediment was observed in 2001-2002 to be a flux of 197 pg cm-2 yr-1. Statistically significant increased concentrations in Tokyo Bay were found for perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) (1956-2008), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) (1990-2008), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) (1990-2008). Concentrations of PFOSA and N-EtFOSAA increased between 1985 and 2001, but after 2001, the concentration decreased significantly, which corresponded with the phase out of perfluorooctyl sulfonyl fluoride-based compounds by the 3M Company in 2000.
|
|
| 3. |
- Codling, Garry, et al.
(author)
-
The fate of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances within a melting snowpack of a boreal forest
- 2014
-
In: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 191, s. 190-198
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Per- and polyfluoroallcyl substances (PFAS) were measured systematically in a snowpack in northern Sweden to determine chemical behaviour during seasonal melt. Average PFAS concentrations were generally low, but displayed a wide range with median (range) concentrations of PFOA and PFOS of 66.5 pg L-1 (ND-122) and 20.5 pg L-1 (2.60-253) respectively. Average concentrations of the shorter chain, C4 and C5 perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs), were similar to 10-fold higher. Differences in the PFAS concentrations and profile were observed between surface snow and deeper layers, with evidence of PFAS migration to deeper snow layers as melt progressed. Chemical loads (ng m(-2)) for C4-9 PFCAs decreased gradually as melt progressed, but increased for C-4, C6-8 PFSAs and the longer chain C10-12 PFCAs. This enrichment in the diminishing snowpack is an unusual phenomenon that will affect PFAS elution with meltwater and subsequent entry to catchment surface waters. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ebinghaus, Ralf, et al.
(author)
-
Berlin statement on legacy and emerging contaminants in polar regions
- 2023
-
In: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 327
-
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.
|
|
| 5. |
- Petäjä, Tuukka, et al.
(author)
-
Overview : Integrative and Comprehensive Understanding on Polar Environments (iCUPE) - concept and initial results
- 2020
-
In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 20:14, s. 8551-8592
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The role of polar regions is increasing in terms of megatrends such as globalization, new transport routes, demography, and the use of natural resources with consequent effects on regional and transported pollutant concentrations. We set up the ERA-PLANET Strand 4 project iCUPE - integrative and Comprehensive Understanding on Polar Environments to provide novel insights and observational data on global grand challenges with an Arctic focus. We utilize an integrated approach combining in situ observations, satellite remote sensing Earth observations (EOs), and multi-scale modeling to synthesize data from comprehensive long-term measurements, intensive campaigns, and satellites to deliver data products, metrics, and indicators to stakeholders concerning the environmental status, availability, and extraction of natural resources in the polar areas. The iCUPE work consists of thematic state-of-the-art research and the provision of novel data in atmospheric pollution, local sources and transboundary transport, the characterization of arctic surfaces and their changes, an assessment of the concentrations and impacts of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants and their cycling, the quantification of emissions from natural resource extraction, and the validation and optimization of satellite Earth observation (EO) data streams. In this paper we introduce the iCUPE project and summarize initial results arising out of the integration of comprehensive in situ observations, satellite remote sensing, and multi-scale modeling in the Arctic context.
|
|
| 6. |
- Slemr, Franz, et al.
(author)
-
Atmospheric mercury measurements onboard the CARIBIC passenger aircraft
- 2016
-
In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1867-1381 .- 1867-8548. ; 9:5, s. 2291-2302
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Goal of the project CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrumented Container) is to carry out regular and detailed observations of atmospheric composition (particles and gases) at cruising altitudes of passenger aircraft, i.e. at 9-12km. Mercury has been measured since May 2005 by a modified Tekran instrument (Tekran Model 2537 A analyser, Tekran Inc., Toronto, Canada) during monthly intercontinental flights between Europe and South and North America, Africa, and Asia. Here we describe the instrument modifications, the post-flight processing of the raw instrument signal, and the fractionation experiments.
|
|
| 7. |
- Slemr, Franz, et al.
(author)
-
Mercury distribution in the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere according to measurements by the IAGOS-CARIBIC observatory : 2014-2016
- 2018
-
In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 18:16, s. 12329-12343
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mercury was measured onboard the IAGOS-CARIBIC passenger aircraft from May 2005 until February 2016 during near monthly sequences of mostly four intercontinental flights from Germany to destinations in North and South America, Africa and South and East Asia. Most of these mercury data were obtained using an internal default signal integration procedure of the Tekran instrument but since April 2014 more precise and accurate data were obtained using post-flight manual integration of the instrument raw signal. In this paper we use the latter data. Increased upper tropospheric total mercury (TM) concentrations due to large scale biomass burning were observed in the upper troposphere (UT) at the equator and southern latitudes during the flights to Latin America and South Africa in boreal autumn (SON) and boreal winter (DJF). TM concentrations in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS) decrease with altitude above the thermal tropopause but the gradient is less steep than reported before. Seasonal variation of the vertical TM distribution in the UT and LMS is similar to that of other trace gases with surface sources and stratospheric sinks. Speciation experiments suggest comparable TM and gaseous elementary mercury (GEM) concentrations at and below the tropopause leaving little space for Hg2+ (TM-thinsp;GEM) being the dominating component of TM here. In the stratosphere significant GEM concentrations were found to exist up to 4 km altitude above the thermal tropopause. Correlations with N2O as a reference tracer suggest stratospheric lifetimes of 72±37 and 74±27 years for TM and GEM, respectively, comparable to the stratospheric lifetime of COS. This coincidence, combined with pieces of evidence from us and other researchers, corroborates the hypothesis that Hg2+ formed by oxidation in the stratosphere attaches to sulfate particles formed mainly by oxidation of COS and is removed with them from the stratosphere by air mass exchange, gravitational sedimentation and cloud scavenging processes.
|
|
