🗊Презентация Priority Pollutants of the Arctic Territories

Priority Pollutants of the Arctic Territories Lecturer – Maria Nikitina

Course Description

General description The course focuses on the study of the current state of the biosphere and chemical pollution of the Arctic ecosystems. Sources, types and pathways of chemical pollution will be discussed.

Course contents 1 . Introduction. • General ecological characteristics of the Arctic region. • The main sources of pollution of Arctic ecosystems. • Tracks of major pollutants. 2 . Heavy metals as the pollutants of Arctic Region. • The main sources of heavy metals in the Arctic. • Atmospheric emissions and geochemical cycles of heavy metals. • Transformation forms of heavy metals. 3. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs). • Physical and chemical characteristics of POPs. • The main sources of POPs in the Arctic. • Pathways of POPs in the Arctic. 4. Radionuclides in the Arctic. • The main sources of radionuclides. • Impact on the environment and biota.

Assessment methods and criteria Course examinations may be report, written test, assessments of lab reports or field reports. Final certification is the multilevel test in the 2nd semester of the master degree.

Mandatory reading Quante M.,  Ebinghaus R., Flöser G. Persistent Pollution – Past, Present and Future. – Springer Link, 2011. – 417 p. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-642-17419-3 Lichtfouse E., Schwarzbauer J., Robert D. Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World. Volume 2: Remediation of Air and Water Pollution. – Springer Link, 2012. – 548 p. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-007-2439-6 Alloway B. (Ed.) Heavy Metals in Soils. Trace Metals and Metalloids in Soils and their Bioavailability. – Springer Link, 2013. – 613 p. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-007-4470-7. Johannessen O.,  Volkov V.,  Pettersson M.. Radioactivity and Pollution in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Region. Observations, Modeling, and Simulations. – Springer Link, 2010. – 215 p. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-540-49856-8.

Recommended reading Ibanez J.G., Hernandez-Esparza M., Doria-Serrano C., Fregoso-Infante A., Singh M.M Environmental Chemistry. – Springer Link, 2008. - Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-387-49493-7. Bottenheim J, Dastoor A., Gong S., Higuchi K., Li Y. Long Range Transport of Air Pollution to the Arctic. – Springer Link, 2004. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/b94522 . Kondratyev K, Varotsos C., Krapivin V., Savinykh V. High-latitude environment and global ecodynamics. – Springer Link, 2004. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-18636-3_5. Derome J., Lukina N. Interaction Between Environmental Pollution and Land-Cover/Land-Use Change in Arctic Areas. – Springer Link, 2004. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-90-481-9118-5_11. Fabian P., Dameris M. Ozone in the Atmosphere. Basic Principles, Natural and Human Impacts. – Springer Link, 2014. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-642-54099-8. Viana M. (Ed.) Urban Air Quality in Europe. – Springer Link, 2013. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-642-38451-6 . Kim Y., Platt U. (Eds.) Advanced Environmental Monitoring. – Springer Link, 2008. Retrieved from: http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4020-6364-0 .

Lecture 1. Lecture № 1. Introduction

Definition of the Arctic region The Arctic is often delimited by the Arctic Circle (66°32'N), which approximates the southern boundary of the midnight sun. Environmental contaminants are a global problem. Their presence and role in the Arctic reflects the physical, biological, and social characteristics of the region, as well as the way the Arctic interacts with the rest of the world.

Definition of the Arctic region

Arctic Region Polar ecosystems exist under extreme environmental conditions, including cold temperatures, large seasonal fluctuations in incoming solar radiation, extensive snow and ice cover, and short growing seasons. The Arctic region also includes the tundra — meaning “treeless plain”— ecosystem. One defining characteristic of the arctic tundra is its permafrost, permanently frozen ground that occurs from several inches below the surface to depths of more than 1000 feet.

Arctic Region The arctic tundra is circumpolar, meaning that it is an ecosystem surrounding the polar region, above roughly 60 degrees north latitude. The Arctic circle occurs at 66 degrees north latitude.

Arctic Region These conditions affect the productivity, species diversity, wildlife behavior (e.g., migration), and food chain characteristics of Arctic and subarctic ecosystems. These effects have implications on contaminant transfer and storage in Arctic biota, and on the sensitivity of Arctic ecosystems to contaminants and other stressors.

2. General ecological characteristics of Arctic ecosystems relevant to contaminants and other stressors 1. Low productivity Productivity in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments is reduced due to limited nutrient availability, low light, low temperatures, ice cover, and short growing seasons. The low productivity in the Arctic results in slower-growing and longer-lived poikilotherms than in temperate climates.

2. General ecological characteristics of Arctic ecosystems relevant to contaminants and other stressors 2. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification Levels of some contaminants, particularly metals, in specific tissues and organs of a number of temperate and Arctic species increase with age. This is due to bioaccumulation, i.e., increases in contaminant concentrations in biota with continued exposure over time. Some organic contaminants become further concentrated in animals with each successive step up a food chain, a process called biomagnification.

2. General ecological characteristics of Arctic ecosystems relevant to contaminants and other stressors 3. Cyclic annual productivity Arctic ecosystems are highly cyclic due to seasonal fluctuations in light levels, nutrient inputs, and temperature. Nutrients and contaminants deposited on snow, ice, soil, and plants during the Arctic winter can be mobilized and assimilated very quickly in the spring when sunlight returns and temperatures rise. In freshwater systems, the spring melt carries nutrients and some contaminants into streams, ponds, and lakes.

2. General ecological characteristics of Arctic ecosystems relevant to contaminants and other stressors 4. Low species diversity The low species diversity in the Arctic is a consequence of low absolute productivity and recent glaciations. In contrast, the Antarctic marine environment which has not experienced such glaciations, has considerably higher biological diversity and an accompanying higher degree of specialization The low diversity in the Arctic is associated with opportunistic and invading species that are adapted to survive successfully under a range of conditions.

3. The Main Sources of Pollution of Arctic Ecosystems Air pollution/Arctic haze Ocean garbage and sewage Invasive species Noise Ship strikes

3. Sources outside the Arctic Outside of the Arctic, sources exist for a number of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs); the main contaminants of concern are: organochlorine pesticides (e.g., HCH) and their metabolites from agricultural activities/ practices; industrial chemicals (e.g., PCBs); and anthropogenic and natural combustion products, e.g. chlorinated dioxins/furans and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

3. Sources within, or in close proximity to, the Arctic: PCBs from decommissioned DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line sites in Canada, and dioxins/furans from smelters in Norway are examples of identified sources of POPs within the Arctic; other such sources probably exist but are presently unknown. Two-thirds of heavy metals in air in the High Arctic originate from industrial activities on the Kola Peninsula, the Norilsk industrial complex, the Urals (outside the Arctic) and the Pechora Basin. At point sources such as mine sites, heavy metals may exceed local background concentrations at distances up to 30 km from the site. Mineralization of geological formations provides significant, non-anthropogenic local inputs of heavy metals.

Contaminant pathways The Arctic is a focus for major atmospheric, riverine, and marine pathways which result in the long-range transport of contaminants into and within the Arctic. The Arctic is, therefore, a potential contaminant storage reservoir and/or sink. Various processes remove these contaminants from the atmosphere, oceans and rivers and make them available to plants and animals. Food chains are the major biological pathways for selective uptake, transfer, and sometimes magnification of contaminants by Arctic plants and animals, many of which are subsequently consumed by Arctic peoples.