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Tanu Jindal Director and Professor Amity Institute of Environmental Anthropogenic Activities and Environmental contamination in Antarctic regions Professor (Dr.) Tanu Jindal Director Amity Institute for Environmental Toxicology, Safety and Management Amity Institute of Environmental Science & Amity center for Antarctic Research and studies Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh Overview • Antarctica is often thought of as a pristine land untouched by human disturbance. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. For more than 100 years people have been travelling to Antarctica and in that short time most parts have been visited • Over the years since the Antarctic Treaty came into force, greater environmental awareness has led to increasing regulation by the Antarctic Treaty System. • It is necessary to monitor the persistent contaminants i.e. VOCs, PCBs, PAHs, dioxins, pesticides, Heavy metals as well as microbial contamination by non-native species through Human activities to check further contamination. • Environmental studies have been undertaken in the area around Indian Station “Maitri” to establish base line parameters on several environmental parameters by NEERI, NCAOR and SRIIR etc but the data is scarce in newly established Bharti Station Antarctic Pollution Issues • Antarctica is a continent devoid of permanent human settlement which is now being largely affected by various anthropogenic activities • In 1959 Antarctica was established as an international center for science and research, which led international teams to conduct research on the continent. • Further research will lead to an understanding as to where the pollution originates, as well as the international coordination needed to ameliorate the degradation. Key Issues : • Ozone layer depletion due to use of CFCs • Heavy metal contamination • Rising CO2 level and Global warming • Oil spills • Persistent organic Pollutants (POPs) and VOCs • Microbial Contamination • Tangible human waste Ozone Depletion Meteorological mechanism • Movement of air from one place to another in the upper stratosphere • Cold temperature in the upper atmosphere causes nitric acid to freeze into crystals forming wispy pink clouds • Forms a vortex of tightly twisted winds thus forming a hole in the upper atmosphere Ozone Layer Depletion 1970 1971 1972 1979 • CFCs were heavily used worldwide during the 20th century. CFCs could be found in refrigerants, hairsprays, and Styrofoam • Within the past few decades, scientists have found a decreased concentration of ozone above Antarctica. 1992 1993 1994 1996 Total Ozone in October (DU) Chemical Mechanism Chemical Mechanism • Different chemicals are responsible for the destruction of the ozone layer • Topping the list : – chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) – man-made, non-toxic and inert in the troposphere – In the stratosphere are photolysed, releasing reactive chlorine atoms that catalytically destroy ozone Heavy metal contamination • The SCAR action group on environmental contamination has reported Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, and other metals which were significantly found in LTER region in Antarctic Peninsula ( Bargagli et al , 2000). • Kureishy et al. (1993) emphasized the indirect affect by industrial and agricultural activities of other continents on Antarctic and analysed various heavy metals ( Pb, Cu, Co, Ni and Cd) in some parts of Antarctica and the Southern Indian Ocean. Of the five metals, Cd, Co and Ni were not detected in any of the zooplankton or krill samples. Pb ranged from below 0.05 Ixg g-i wet wt to 8.0 ~tg g-1 wet wt, and Cu from 6.0-160.0 ~tg g-L • Saikia et al (2008) analyzed gut microbial flora of seabird skua (Catharacta spp). More than 50% isolates were able to tolerate 200 g/ml concentration of lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) and . • Research conducted by Joe McConnel for lead contamination , claims that timeline to the pollution levels claiming it started around 1900, and continued to rise with various fluctuations until it leveled off around 1990. The article ties external anthropogenic activity with the lead concentration levels over time in Antarctica. • Australian Lead Mining Caused Early Antarctic Pollution.”, 2014 (Desert Research Institute “DHS News”, 2014) • Trace levels of heavy metals have been found in ice cores dating back as far as 672 kyr BP1 , and studies have now shown there are trace levels of Cu, Pb, Hg, Bi, Zn, As, Cd, Al, Ag, V, Mn, Fe, Ba, and U in snow pack in Antarctica1-3, most of which have natural sources (rock and soil dust and volcanism1 , sea spray3 , and atmospheric aerosols4 ). • Jubany station (Argentina) have successfully used lichen to monitor the atmospheric distribution of heavy metals on King George Island. The lichen were analysed for Pb, Zb, Cu, Cd, Fe, and Mn. • Fuel combustion and weathering of metallic structures were identified as potential anthropogenic sources for the metals apart from Cd. Rising CO2 level and Global warming • Carbon Dioxide levels exceed sustainable levels globally. • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) provides information on CO2 levels in Antarctica. • CDIAC analyzed three ice cores, In all samples, there is a shocking increase in air pollutants in the last 100 years that directly correlates to car use and an industrializing global economy. The Relentless Rise of Carbon Dioxide. “NASA” Coverage of sea ice in Polar regions Coverage of sea ice in both the Arctic (Top) and Antarctica (Bottom) for both summer minimums and winter maximums Source: National Snow and Ice Data Centre Oil Spill • In 1989, an Argentine vessel hit a reef around Palmer Station in Antarctica and dispersed 600,000 liters of oil into the marine environment surrounding Antarctica. • This oil spill was the largest ever experienced by Antarctica. • Oil spills harm cold climates more than others because oil globules can be retained in ice for long periods of time, and at low temperatures microbes take a far longer to degrade oil. • The environmental impacts of the spill were later documented. The effects took time and varied, though seabirds were those most affected. • Consequences of spill were: o Adelie penguins were documents as losing an extra 16% of their population o Comorant chicks saw a nearly 100% mortality rate following the spill and o Comorant nests lessened by 85%. • These fluctuations in species populations could lead to other indirect impacts on the environment that may be more difficult to quantify. Persistent organic pollutants • The “grasshopper effect” exacerbates the pollution that makes its way to Antarctica. The grasshopper effect moves pollutants, typically persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and VOCs from warmer climates to colder Polar Regions. • Molecules are evaporated at warmer climates, and settle back to the ground at colder climates where the molecules can condense out. • This process leads to greater concentrations of Chiuchiolo et al 2004 POPs and other pollutants in polar climates. Although this system harms the Arctic region more than the Antarctic, the grasshopper effect still has the potential to move pollutants arising from the southern hemisphere to the Antarctic region. (Hund, 2014) Chiuchiolo et al 2004 • A wide range of Antarctic organisms, like krill, fish, birds, dolphins and seals have been reported to be contaminated by DDTs and PCBs, no data is available on phytoplankton (Chiuchiolo et al 2004) • Various Organochlorine pesticides and brominated diphenyl ethers (BDE-47, - 99, and -100) were measured in sea ice algae, water column plankton, and juvenile and adult krill collected in the Palmer Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) region west of the Antarctic Peninsula during late austral winter and midsummer, 2001-2002 Microbial Contamination • Hughes and Thompson, (2004) assessed the high concentrations of 5beta(H)- cholestan-3beta-ol (coprostanol) relative to the corresponding 5alpha-epimer (cholestanol), (an indicative of sewage pollution) , were only found in sediments within 200 m of the sewage outfall outfall of Rothera Research Station • Nevertheless, a sewage treatment plant was installed in February 2003 to reduce this contamination further. Tangible human waste • Since the 1940s, plastic use has increased dramatically, resulting in a huge quantity of nearly indestructible, lightweight material floating in the oceans and eventually deposited on beaches worldwide. • Sources of marine debris include: o Items that are brought to the beach and left there by beachgoers o Garbage deliberately or accidentally discarded by ships at sea or from offshore oil platforms o Material carried to sea by rivers and estuaries , especially from large coastal cities. Amity University in collaboration with with National Centre for Antarctic and Oceanic Research has participated in 34th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica and also preparing to participate for 35th ISEA for ”Environmental Monitoring and Health of Indian Antarctic Stations in Pursuit of Antarctic Treaty System” S.No Responsible Contribution to Project PI & Field Task Assigned Comments Institute Representative 1 NCAOR Environmental Anoop Tiwari Installation of various Fulfilling all the objectives as monitoring including instruments, in-situ mentioned in proposal mercury measurement (Maitri Station) measurements with support of IIT-H Brijesh Desai Collection of aerosol, (Bhrati Station) water samples, sediment samples 2 IIT-M source apportionment of Prof Viren Sethi Installation of Filter papers will be analyzed air instruments as well as at IIT-M/NCAOR for prescribed
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