Katarzyna Kozak

Pollutants present in different components of the Svalbard archipelago environment / Zanieczyszczenia obecne w różnych komponentach środowiska archipelagu Svalbard

Abstract During last years an interest in the processes of transport and fate of pollutants to the polar regions located distantly from industrial centers, has significantly increased. The current analytical techniques enabling conducting studies prove that the Arctic regions (in the past considered as a pollution free area) have become an area of highly intensive anthropopresion. Svalbard archipelago stands out from the other polar regions due to its specific environmental conditions and geographic location, which results in becoming a reservoir of contamination in this area. Systematic environmental monitoring of arctic regions is extremely important due to an unique opportunity of observing a direct impact of pollution on the ongoing processes in the area of interest. In this way measurement data obtained are a valuable source of information, not only on changes occurring in the Arctic ecosystem, but also on estimated global impact of certain xenobiotics present in the environment. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative studies on particular chemicals deposited in different regions of the Arctic ecosystem may constitute the basis for undertaking actions aimed at preventing negative effects caused by these pollutants. Abstrakt Na przestrzeni ostatnich lat znacząco wzrosło zainteresowanie procesami transportu i losem trwałych zanieczyszczeń w miejscach odległych od centrów przemysłowych, takich jak obszary polarne. Nowoczesne techniki analityczne pozwoliły na przeprowadzenie badań, które dowiodły, że również Arktyka, która w przeszłości była uważana za teren pozbawiony zanieczyszczeń, stała się obszarem o dużej intensywności antropopresji. Archipelag Svalbard wyróżnia się na tle innych rejonów polarnych ze względu na specyficzne warunki środowiskowe oraz położenie geograficzne, które czynią ten obszar rezerwuarem zanieczyszczeń. Monitorowanie stanu środowiska rejonów arktycznych jest niezwykle ważne ze względu na unikatową możliwość obserwacji bezpośredniego wpływu zanieczyszczeń na procesy zachodzące w badanym obszarze. Uzyskane w ten sposób dane pomiarowe stanowią cenne źródło informacji nie tylko o zmianach zachodzących w ekosystemie Arktyki, ale również pozwalają na oszacowanie wpływu określonych ksenobiotyków na środowisko w skali globalnej. Ponadto badania rodzaju i ilości substancji chemicznych zdeponowanych w różnych elementach ekosystemu stanowią podstawę do podejmowania działań, które mają na celu zapobieganie negatywnym oddziaływaniom zanieczyszczeń.

The role of atmospheric precipitation in introducing contaminants to the surface waters of the Fuglebekken catchment, Spitsbergen

Although the Svalbard Archipelago is located at a high latitude, far from potential contaminant sources, it is not free from anthropogenic impact. Towards the Fuglebekken catchment, in the southern part of Spitsbergen, north of Hornsund fjord, contaminants can be transported from mainland pollution sources. In the precipitation and surface water collected in the catchment, the following elements were detected and quantified: Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Cs, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn. Additionally, pH, electrical conductivity and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined in those samples. The acidic reaction of precipitation waters was identified as an important factor intensifying the metal migration in this Arctic tundra environment. The air mass trajectory, surprisingly, explained the variability of only a small fraction of trace elements in precipitation water. The air mass origin area was correlated only with the concentrations of As, V and Cr. Wind directions were helpful in explaining the variability of Mn, U and Ba concentrations (east–north-easterly wind) and the contents of B, As, Rb, Se, Sr and Li in precipitation (south-westerly wind), which may indicate the local geological source of those. Atmospheric deposition was found to play a key role in the transport of contaminants into the Fuglebekken catchment; however, the surface water composition was modified by its pH and TOC content.

Bacterial Community Structures in Freshwater Polar Environments of Svalbard

Two thirds of Svalbard archipelago islands in the High Arctic are permanently covered with glacial ice and snow. Polar bacterial communities in the southern part of Svalbard were characterized using an amplicon sequencing approach. A total of 52,928 pyrosequencing reads were analyzed in order to reveal bacterial community structures in stream and lake surface water samples from the Fuglebekken and Revvatnet basins of southern Svalbard. Depending on the samples examined, bacterial communities at a higher taxonomic level mainly consisted either of Bacteroidetes, Betaproteobacteria, and Microgenomates (OP11) or Planctomycetes, Betaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes members, whereas a population of Microgenomates was prominent in 2 samples. At the lower taxonomic level, bacterial communities mostly comprised Microgenomates, Comamonadaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Legionellales, SM2F11, Parcubacteria (OD1), and TM7 members at different proportions in each sample. The abundance of OTUs shared in common among samples was greater than 70%, with the exception of samples in which the proliferation of Planctomycetaceae, Phycisphaeraceae, and Candidatus Methylacidiphilum spp. lowered their relative abundance. A multi-variable analysis indicated that As, Pb, and Sb were the main environmental factors influencing bacterial profiles. We concluded that the bacterial communities in the polar aquatic ecosystems examined mainly consisted of freshwater and marine microorganisms involved in detritus mineralization, with a high proportion of zooplankton-associated taxa also being identified.

The Research of the Contamination Levels present in Samples of Precipitation and Surface Waters Collected from the Catchment Area Fuglebekken (Hornsund, Svalbard Archipelago)

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are contaminants that may appear in polar regions. In present work surface water was collected from the main stream water in the Fuglebekken basin. The precipitationsamples was collected from the near area by Polish Polar Station in Hornsund. The present investigationreveals the results of the analysis of these samples for their total phenols, formaldehyde, TOC, PAHs and PCBs content. The presence in the basin (thousands of kilometers distant from industrial centers) of those compounds is testimony to the fact that these compounds are transported over vast distances with air masses and deposited in regions devoid of any human impact.

The interaction between bacterial abundance and selected pollutants concentration levels in an arctic catchment (southwest Spitsbergen, Svalbard)

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been a topic of interest in environmental sciences for >60years. POPs in the Arctic have been investigated since the 1970s, when first atmospheric measurements revealed the presence of these pollutants in the polar regions. Major contaminant transport routes to the Arctic include atmospheric and oceanic transport, as well as inflow from rivers and sea ice. The sources of pollutants, such as industry, power generators, vehicle and ship exhausts, introduce the PAHs, phenols, formaldehyde or metals into the Arctic. Transport via sea currents, however, can take several years. The highest concentration levels of total PAHs were observed in two samples from the tributaries in July 2015 and were 1069ngL-1 and 3141ngL-1 and in September 2015, the highest concentrations were observed in samples collected from Revvatnet lake and were 978ngL-1 and 1823ngL-1. The highest concentrations of trace elements in both months were 41μgL-1 in the sample from the highest tributary (July 2015) and 79μgL-1 in the same sample (September 2015). The purpose of this study was also to determine abundance of bacteria in the Arctic freshwater of different types. Microbes are omnipresent and represent diverse biological communities. In the freshwater ecosystems, microorganisms form the base of the food chain supporting higher trophic levels. Although microbes are generally thought to live in the warm regions of Earth, many of them develop in cold climates. In the Revelva catchment, the biggest number of bacteria were detected at the river estuary in July 2015 and at the sampling point located in the Revvatnet lake in September 2015. Generally, the bacterial abundance indices depended on nutrient levels to a small extent, showing the environment of the Revelva catchment not to be nutrient limited, which is in accordance with its rich biological life also in macroscale.

Hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties of pollutants as a factor influencing their redistribution during snowpack melt

Glaciers accumulate organic pollutants delivered by snow. However, our understanding of the exact dynamics of organic pollutants in the snowpack relies primarily on laboratory experiments and mathematical models. To fill the gap related to the detailed field data, we have conducted observations of melting snow profiles in two locations and three different stages of melting on one High Arctic glacier, as well as in superimposed ice. We monitored the chemical concentrations of formaldehyde, phenols, short-chain carboxylic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and snow water equivalents to derive chemical loads. The obtained organic contaminant redistribution patterns are compared to the meltwater removal model by Meyer and Wania (2011), in order to link the behaviour of chemicals to their hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties. Both the later snowpits and the superimposed ice layer were generally more abundant in particulate organics and hydrophobic compounds, despite the initial prevalence of hydrophilic organic chemicals. The chemical species with high water solubility also showed less predictable elution patterns, due to their chemical reactivity and possible photochemical reactions in the snowpack. Finally, ice layers in the snowpack showed very different chemical characteristics to the underlying superimposed ice, so one cannot be used as a chemical proxy for another. In order to interpret the ice core records correctly, the temporal changes in concentration of different pollutant types should be considered, as glaciers may preferentially accumulate hydrophobic organics that tarry in the snow cover.

Studies on the presence and spatial distribution of anthropogenic pollutants in the glacial basin of Scott Glacier in the face of climate change (Fiord Bellsund, Spitsbergen)

The study area covered the NW part of the Wedel Jarlsberg Land (SW part of the Svalbard Archipelago). The primary study object was the catchment of the Scott Glacier in the vicinity of the Research Station of of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin - Calypsobyen. The Scott River catchment (of glacial hydrological regime) has an area of approximately 10 km2, 40% of which is occupied by the valley Scott Glacier in the phase of strong recession. The present study concerns the determination of physical and chemical parameters (pH, conductivity, TOC) and concentrations of pollutants (phenols, aldehydes).

Application of Chemometric Analysis to the Study of Snow at the Sudety Mountains, Poland

Abstract Snow samples were collected during winter 2011/2012 in three posts in the Western Sudety Mountains (Poland) in 3 consecutive phases of snow cover development, i.e. stabilisation (Feb 1st), growth (Mar 15th) and its ablation (Mar 27th). To maintain a fixed number of samples, each snow profile has been divided into six layers, but hydrochemical indications were made for each 10 cm section of core. The complete data set was subjected in the first run of chemometric data interpretation to Cluster Analysis as well as Principal Components Analysis. Further, Self-Organizing Maps, type of neutral network described by Kohonen were used for visualization and interpretation of large high-dimensional data sets. For each site the hierarchical Ward’s method of linkage, squared Euclidean distance as similarity measure, standardized raw data, cluster significance test according to Sneath’s criterion clustering of the chemical variables was done. Afterwards this grouping of the chemical variables was confirmed by the results from Principal Components Analysis. The major conclusion is that the whole system of three sampling sites four patterns of variable groupings are observed: the first one is related to the mineral salt impact; the second one - with the impact of secondary emissions and organic pollutants; next one - with dissolved matter effect and the last one - with oxidative influence, again with relation to anthropogenic activities like smog, coal burning, traffic etc. It might be also concluded that specificity of the samples is determined by the factors responsible for the data set structure and not by particular individual or time factors.