New Persistent Pollutants in the Arctic Atmosphere (NPPAA)
Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt - EMPA
Lay summary
Atmospheric pollution in the Arctic caused by newly-emitted persistent pollutants is a matter of growing concern. Due to the remoteness of the Arctic and Antarctic from most known sources, the poles are a location of choice to determine if specific chemicals are persistent and prone to long-range transport. Air pollution due to remote sources, but also increasing local sources, is expected to have a growing impact on the health of Arctic populations and Arctic biosphere in the future, with persistent pollutants being often known to bioaccumulate in terrestrial and marine organisms. The project New Persistent Pollutants in the Arctic Atmosphere (NPPAA) aims at reconstructing concentrations of emerging pollutants in the Arctic and at mid-latitudes, using measurement of background air, unpolluted by local sources. Target pollutants to monitor are newly emitted perfluorocompounds and semi-volatile chlorinated solvents, as well as HFOs (hydrofluoroolefins, newly emitted replacements for HFCs), whose decay products are suspected to be persistent. These data will help pinpoint potential persistence characteristic and long-range transport of the suspect pollutants. To do so, a sampling program will be established at Mount Zeppelin, Svalbard, with weekly air samples collected for a full year. These flasks will then be analysed on Empa’s cutting-edge analytical system for atmospheric trace gases. The Arctic flask data will be compared to air samples collected in Switzerland and screened for the same compounds, using the same instrumentation, thus allowing a high quality gradient reconstruction between the two locations. This work will constitute a pilot study with the aim to trigger long-term monitoring in the Arctic atmosphere of pollutants newly identified as persistent. Furthermore, the chlorine-containing substances, if proven to be long-lived, would then also be involved in stratospheric ozone depletion. Ultimately, this work will contribute to future revision of the Stockholm Convention aiming at banning persistent pollutants, and of the Montreal Protocol acting for the protection of the ozone layer and the global climate.
Details
| Regional focus | Arctic |
| Location | Zeppelin Station, Svalbard; Jungfraujoch, Switzerland |
| Funded amount | 36,000 CHF |
| Project dates | 1st September 2020 – 30th July 2022 |
| Category | SPI Exploratory Grants |