Accelerated delivery of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in recent sediments near a large seabird colony in Arctic Canada

作者：Michelutti Neal^*; Liu Huijun; Smol John P; Kimpe Lynda E; Keatley Bronwyn E; Mallory Mark; Macdonald Robie W; Douglas Marianne S V; Blais Jules M

来源：Environmental Pollution, 2009, 157(10): 2769-2775.

DOI：10.1016/j.envpol.2009.04.025

• Polychlorinated biphenyls
• Biovector transport
• Seabirds
• Paleolimnology
• Arctic Canada

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in sediment cores from ponds located near a large seabird colony at Cape Vera, Devon Island, Arctic Canada. Surface sediment PCB concentrations were similar to 5x greater in seabird-affected sites relative to a nearby control pond and were correlated with independent indicators of seabird activity including, sedimentary delta(15)N and lakewater chlorophyll a and cadmium concentrations. PCB fluxes were amongst the highest recorded from the High Arctic, ranging from 290 to 2400 ng m(-2) yr(-1). Despite a widespread ban of PCBs in the mid-1970s, PCB accumulation rates in our cores increased, with the highest values recorded in the most recent sediments. Possible mechanisms for the recent PCB increases include a vertical flux step driven by seabird-delivered nutrients and/or delayed loading of PCBs from the catchment into the ponds. The high PCB levels recorded in the seabird-affected sites suggest that seabird colonies are exposing coastal ecosystems to elevated levels of contaminants.

• 出版日期2009-10
• 单位浙江工商大学