Occurrences, sources, and transport of organochlorine pesticides in the aquatic environment of Antarctica

Abstract

We review information on the concentration levels of organochlorine pesticides in the abiotic aquatic environment (in seawater, sea ice, surface freshwater, snow, firn, and glacial ice) and the organisms inhabiting those, in Antarctica. Particular attention is given to the environmental fate of these pollutants, which modifies their impact on the organisms living in the Antarctic. OCPs have been delivered to the Antarctic environment mainly via long-range transport from inhabited areas, and due to their long accumulation they are sometimes reemitted from melting cryosphere. Since climate change is forecasted to intensify, the release of anthropogenic pollutants from increased seasonal thaw may prove its importance for the future state of this unspoiled environment. However, the limited estimations of the OCPs storage magnitude in the Antarctic cryosphere are relatively crude and may err significantly towards higher values. The OCPs are already present in different types of animal tissues at every trophic level, where they may cause negative effects such as reproductive disorders, decreased survival rates, and an increased parasitic load. Therefore, it is important to continuously monitor OCP concentrations in various elements of the Antarctic environment and the fate of these pollutants, taking into account their global and local sources, including the remobilization from frozen state.