Neutral Poly/Per-Fluoroalkyl Substances in Air from the Atlantic to the Southern Ocean and in Antarctic Snow

The oceanic scale occurrences of typical neutral poly/per-fluoroallcyl substances (PFASs) in the atmosphere across the Atlantic, as well as their air-snow exchange at the Antarctic Peninsula, were investigated. Total concentrations of the 12 PFASs (Sigma PFASs) in gas phase ranged from 2.8 to 68.8 pg m(3) (mean: 23.5 pg m(-3)), and the levels in snow were from 125 to 303 pg L-1 (mean: 209 pg L-1) Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) were dominant in both air and snow. The differences of specific compounds to Sigma PFASs were not significant between aft and snow. Sigma PFASs were higher above the northern Atlantic compared to the southern Atlantic, and the levels above the southern Atlantic <30 degrees S was the lowest. High atmospheric PFAS levels around the Antarctic Peninsula were the results of a combination of air mass, weak elimination processes and air-snow exchange of PFASs. Higher ratios of 8:2 to 10:2 to 6:2 FTOH were observed in the southern hemisphere, especially around the Antarctic Peninsula, suggesting that PFASs in the region were mainly from the long-range atmospheric transport. No obvious decrease of PFASs was observed in the background marine atmosphere after 2005.