Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) levels in air and surface sea waters along the Antarctic Peninsula

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are widespread worldwide, even reaching polar regions. Among POPs, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and their metabolites have been reported scarcely in the Antarctic environment. Here we report the levels of p,p '-DDT, o,p '-DDT, p,p '-DDE, and o,p '-DDE in air and water samples collected during austral summer 2009. The levels found ranged from 0.25 to 4.26 pg m-3 in the atmospheric samples while in the water samples ranged from 0.07 to 0.25 pg L-1. These concentrations were within the range of the reported concentrations in the last 20 years in Antarctica. However, the source ratio showed that most of p, p '-DDT comes from fresh applications and Dicofol formulations. The back-trajectories estimated for the air masses revealed that most of the p,p '-DDT came from the continental Antarctic peninsula and surrounding waters. The diffusive exchange direction showed that Antarctic surface waters are the final sink of the studied compounds during the survey period.

Automated summary

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including DDT and its metabolites, are found worldwide and even in polar regions. This study reports the levels of DDT and its metabolites in the Antarctic environment, which were within the range of reported concentrations in the last 20 years. The source analysis indicates that most of the DDT comes from fresh applications and Dicofol formulations. The air mass trajectories suggest that the continental Antarctic peninsula and surrounding waters are major sources of DDT. Diffusive exchange shows that Antarctic surface waters act as the final sink for these compounds.