THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND WESTERN ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET: CURRENT SOURCES OR SINKS FOR ATMOSPHERICALLY TRANSPORTED ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS?

College Of William & Mary Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Gloucester Point VA

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Global scale studies of the atmospheric transport and air-sea exchange of persistent organic pollutants are rare, but have led to important advances in our understanding of the long-range atmospheric transport and fate of these contaminants, which in some cases may have profound impacts on remote polar ecosystems. The upcoming cruise of the RV Oden from Goteborg, Sweden to McMurdo Station, Antarctica (Oct. 2007 to Jan. 2008) offers a truly unique opportunity to evaluate the long-range atmospheric transport of persistent organohalogen compounds and determine if the Atlantic Ocean and Western Antarctic Ice Sheet are currently sources or sinks for these contaminants. The underlying hypothesis is that the Atlantic Ocean and Western Antarctic Ice Sheet are sinks for current use agricultural and industrial organohalogen compounds that undergo long-range atmospheric transport, but are sources of persistent organic pollutants that are currently banned or severely restricted for use (e.g. DDT, PCBs) that previously accumulated in ocean surface waters and glacier ice. This hypothesis will be examined by measuring current use and legacy organohalogen compounds. This project will provide valuable information on the global redistribution of previously released environmental contaminants from surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet. The latter may be particularly relevant due to observations of rapid warming and glacier melting in the region. The global data set on atmospheric gas phase and aerosol-associated current use chemicals to be collected as part of this project will be invaluable for calibrating long range atmospheric transport models. Finally, this cruise will provide an opportunity to make preliminary measurements of aerosol-associated and semi-volatile gaseous organic carbon over the oceans. This project will facilitate the development of an international collaboration between environmental scientists in the U.S. and Sweden who will serve as co-principal investigators for the proposed research. It will also help develop collaborative research in the U.S. between a graduate research institution and a predominantly undergraduate college for women. Finally, this project will partially support training of a female graduate student.