Arctic catchment as a sensitive indicator of the environmental changes: distribution and migration of metals (Svalbard)

K Kozak,S Tsakovski,Ż Polkowska,M Ruman,Ł Stachnik,K Kozioł,B Luks,V Simeonov,D Lech,S Chmiel

doi:10.1007/s13762-016-1137-6

Abstract

Arctic regions experience metal pollution, despite their remote location, and the distribution and migration of those metals determine their potential impact on the local environment. Here, a High-Arctic catchment (Revelva, Svalbard) located remotely from human-induced pollution sources is studied with respect to the distribution and migration of chosen trace elements (Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Cs, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn) in surface waters. The metal concentrations fluctuated in 2010–2012 between 0.01 and 354 μg L−1, the highest mean-weighted concentration noted for Sr (42.5 μg L−1). The concentrations in the river water were likely influenced by both natural and human-activity-related processes. These factors can produce substances of the same chemical composition (e.g. carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and metals may be emitted both by a volcanic eruption and by industrial sources). Therefore, chemometric techniques were used in the current paper to distinguish the multiple sources of pollution in the Revelva catchment. The authors were seeking to determine whether there is indeed evidence for contamination, sufficient to cause environmental damage in polar region. As a result, it was shown that the long-range transport could play an important role in shaping the metal concentration profile of this Arctic tundra environment, capturing both the influence of volcanic eruptions within the region and the human activity in a range of distances from the study site.

Highlights

The intensification of the industrial activity combined with a limited concern for the environment contributed to the worldwide degradation of the natural environment, including remote areas (Mearns et al 2015; Zdanowicz et al 2015; Kadko et al 2016; Chapman 2016)
The likely influence on these concentrations is a mixture of natural processes and human activity located far away from the catchment (Bazzano et al 2014)
A natural source of metals could be the volcanic eruptions in Iceland (Karasinski et al 2014; Tepe and Bau 2014)

Summary

Introduction

The intensification of the industrial activity combined with a limited concern for the environment contributed to the worldwide degradation of the natural environment, including remote areas (Mearns et al 2015; Zdanowicz et al 2015; Kadko et al 2016; Chapman 2016). The direct human impact on the landscape of the Arctic is limited, but remote human activity may change the chemical composition of the elements of the polar environment, especially by introducing contaminants, such as heavy metals (Melke and Uziak 2006; Grotti et al 2013; Kozak et al 2013; Hao et al 2013; AMAP 2005). The migration of heavy metals in the tundra environment requires special attention, since its fragile ecosystem is readily influenced by air, water and soil quality (Pecher 1994). A tundra-covered Arctic river catchment was chosen as a study site, in order to show the pollution levels and the following migration processes in a sequence from source to sink. A suite of interconnected hydrochemical partitioning processes may influence the metal concentrations in the Arctic environment (Fig. 1)

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Conclusion