Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 54, Issue 16, Pages 9958-9967Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00228
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Funding
- EISPAC project part of the Changing Arctic Ocean programme [NE/R012857/1]
- UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
- National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program [P42ES027706]
- [AWI_PS114_03]
- NERC [NE/R012857/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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The spatial distribution of 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in seawater was investigated along a sampling transect from Europe to the Arctic and two transects within Fram Strait, located between Greenland and Svalbard, in the summer of 2018. Hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA), a replacement compound for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), was detected in Arctic seawater for the first time. This provides evidence for its long-range transport to remote areas. The total PFAS concentration was significantly enriched in the cold, low-salinity surface water exiting the Arctic compared to warmer, higher-salinity water from the North Atlantic entering the Arctic (260 +/- 20 pg/L versus 190 +/- 10 pg/L). The higher ratio of perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) to perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) in outflowing water from the Arctic suggests a higher contribution of atmospheric sources compared to ocean circulation. An east-west cross section of the Fram Strait, which included seven depth profiles, revealed higher PFAS concentrations in the surface water layer than in intermediate waters and a negligible intrusion into deep waters (>1000 m). Mass transport estimates indicated a net inflow of PFASs with >= 8 perfluorinated carbons via the boundary currents and a net outflow of shorter-chain homologues. We hypothesize that this reflects higher contributions from atmospheric sources to the Arctic outflow and a higher retention of the long-chain compounds in melting snow and ice.
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