Seasonal Variation of Legacy Organochlorine Pesticides (OCPs) From East Asia to the Arctic Ocean
Hongyuan Zheng, Yuan Gao, Yinyue Xia, Haizhen Yang, Minghong Cai
Abstract
Abstract Large‐scale field investigations of seven legacy organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the surface seawater and atmosphere from East Asia to the high Arctic Ocean were completed in 2016 and 2017. Seawater OCP (Σ 7 OCPs) concentrations displayed rapid and significant seasonal variations during mid‐late summer. The ocean is the most significant atmospheric‐OCP source region for the Arctic, and feedback affects the middle‐ or low‐latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The legacy OCP concentrations in the Arctic Ocean were shown to gradually decrease with distance from water masses originating in the Bering Sea and the landmass of Alaska. This study is the first updated investigation of OCPs along the North Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean transect in the past decade. It provides updated field data on the global fate of OCPs in a region undergoing rapid climate change.