Four Years of Active Sampling and Measurement of Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Oxygenated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Dronning Maud Land, East AntarcticaClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Preben Van OvermeirenPreben Van OvermeirenEnVOC Research Group, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumMore by Preben Van Overmeiren
- Kristof DemeestereKristof DemeestereEnVOC Research Group, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumMore by Kristof Demeestere
- Patrick De WispelaerePatrick De WispelaereEnVOC Research Group, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumMore by Patrick De Wispelaere
- Stefania GiliStefania GiliDepartment of Geosciences, Princeton University, 208 Guyot Hall, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United StatesMore by Stefania Gili
- Alexander MangoldAlexander MangoldAtmospheric Composition, Measurements and Modeling Group, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI), 3 Avenue Circulaire, 1180 Brussels, BelgiumMore by Alexander Mangold
- Karen De CausmaeckerKaren De CausmaeckerAtmospheric Composition, Measurements and Modeling Group, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI), 3 Avenue Circulaire, 1180 Brussels, BelgiumMore by Karen De Causmaecker
- Nadine MattielliNadine MattielliG-Time Laboratory, Département des Géosciences, Environnement et Société, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Av. A. Depage 30, 1050 Brussels, BelgiumMore by Nadine Mattielli
- Andy DelclooAndy DelclooAtmospheric Composition, Measurements and Modeling Group, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI), 3 Avenue Circulaire, 1180 Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, Ghent 9000, BelgiumMore by Andy Delcloo
- Herman Van LangenhoveHerman Van LangenhoveEnVOC Research Group, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumMore by Herman Van Langenhove
- Christophe Walgraeve*Christophe Walgraeve*Email: [email protected]EnVOC Research Group, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, BelgiumMore by Christophe Walgraeve
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.
Cited By
This article is cited by 3 publications.
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- Qianqian Xue, Yingze Tian, Danlin Song, Fengxia Huang, Yinchang Feng. Variations of source-specific risks for inhalable particles-bound PAHs during long-term air pollution controls in a Chinese megacity: Impact of gas/particle partitioning. Atmospheric Environment 2024, 331 , 120565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2024.120565
- De-Qi Wang, Shi-Ming Jia, Li-Yan Liu, Zi-Feng Zhang, Fu-Jie Zhu, Wan-Li Ma. Pollution characteristics, source apportionment and absorption spectra of size-resolved PAHs in atmospheric particles in a cold megacity of China. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2024, 473 , 134643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134643
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