ATMOSPHERIC POPS THREAT THE MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

ORAZI, MELINA M.; RECABARRÉN-VILLALÓN, TATIANA; JORGE E. MARCOVECCHIO; ANDRES H ARIAS

Marine Environments: Diversity, Threats and Conservation

Nova Science

Lugar: New York; Año: 2020; p. 55 - 100

https://novapublishers.com/shop/marine-environments-diversity-threats-and-conservation/Atmospheric input of POPs (e.g., organochlorine pesticides [OCPs],halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons -polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),chlorinated or brominated dibenzofuran and dibenzo-p-dioxins [PCDDs/DFs,PBDDs/DFs]) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAHs]) mainly comes fromanthropic activities, including as primary emission sources those fromagricultural production and industrial processes. Although the commercial useand application of some POPs have been totally prohibited or severely restricted(Stockholm Convention), they continue to be found in the air and otherenvironmental compartments around the world. Global atmospheric long-range transport has been widely demonstrated forthese compounds and represents a dominant process by which POPs reach theoceans. This is far more relevant for POPs, such as OCPs and PCBs than forPAHs, as the first ones are only generated in the continental sector. On thecontrary, PAHs can be generated in the marine environment, as in oil spillsfrom ships. In addition to the atmospheric transport, atmosphere-seainteractions and the inter-compartmental transfer play an essential role interms of deposition and subsequent entry of POPs into marine ecosystems. Thetransfer of POPs from the atmosphere to the ocean can take place by drydeposition, wet deposition and by diffusive gaseous flows. Fundamentally, inopen marine systems, atmospheric deposition determines that the oceans couldact as reservoirs for POPs. Also, aquatic planktonic species are believed to beimpacted by atmospheric deposition, supporting the accumulation of POPs throughthe food chain. Once in the ocean, the fate of POPs will ultimately depend onseveral events such as movement flows, chemical transformations, physical andbiological processes. In this context, highlighting the important links between the atmosphericand oceanic systems, the objective of the present chapter is to consider theimplication of atmospheric transport in the circulation of POPs and to presentthe relevance of atmospheric deposition to the oceans as a key process thataffects the marine environments.