Bulletin of Geography. Physical Geography Series, No. 15 (2018): 111–137 http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/bgeo-2018-0020 Analysis of air mass back trajectories with present and historical volcanic activity and anthropogenic compounds to infer pollution ISSN 2080-7686 sources in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica) Danuta Szumińska* 1a, Sebastian Czapiewski 1b, Małgorzata Szopińska 2c, Żaneta Polkowska 2d 1 Kazimierz Wielki University, Poland 2 Gdansk University of Technology, Poland * Correspondence: Institute of Geography, Kazimierz Wielki University, Poland. E-mail: [email protected] a https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7142-9080, b https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8010-1378, c https://orcid.org/0000-0003- 2186-7781, d https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2730-0068 Abstract. This work analyses atmospheric transport of natural and anthropogenic pollution to the South Shetland Islands (SSI), with particular reference to the period September 2015 – August 2017. Based on data from the Global Volcanism Program database and air mass back trajectories calculated using the HySPLIT model, it was found that it is possible that in the analysed period volcanic pollution was supplied via long-range transport from South America, and from the South Sandwich Islands. Air masses flowed in over the South Shetland Islands from the South America region relatively frequently – 226 times during the study period, which suggests the additional possibility of anthropogenic pollution being supplied by this means. In certain cases the trajectories also indicated the possibility Key words: of atmospheric transport from the New Zealand region, and even from the south-eastern coast of long range transport, Australia. The analysis of the obtained results is compared against the background of research by volcanic pollution, other authors. This is done to indicate that research into the origin of chemical compounds in the anthropogenic pollution, Antarctic environment should take into account the possible influx of pollutants from remote areas South Shetland Islands, during the sampling period, as well as the possible reemission of compounds accumulated in snow King George Island and ice. Introduction 2009): contamination resulting from numerous evaporation and condensation processes may move to ever-higher latitudes (Bengtson-Nash 2011). This Although Antarctica is the most isolated continent phenomenon is also known as the “grasshopper on Earth, it is influenced by global anthropogenic e ff e c t ”. activity in its broad sense, and the effects of extreme Since the 1960s, there has been an increase natural phenomena (e.g. volcanic eruptions). in the use of compounds classed as Persistent This is mainly due to long-range atmospheric Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Southern transport (LRAT) (Corsolini 2009; Cabrerizo et al. Hemisphere (Bargagli 2008), which has resulted 2014). The presence of industrial, agricultural and in the presence of a wide range of pollutants in volcanic compounds in Antarctica is explained by Antarctica. Hundreds of thousands of different the phenomenon of global distillation (Corsolini industrial chemicals have been produced all over Bulletin of Geography. Physical Geography Series 2018. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- -NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. All rights reserved. © 2018 Sciendo (De Gruyter Company) (on-line). Analysis of air mass backward trajectories ... (Antarctica) D. Szumińska et al. the world, but only a proportion have been tested range atmospheric pollution has been indicated in the Antarctic environment (e.g. polychlorinated in some works (e.g. Lee et al. 2004; Mishra et al. biphenyls [PCBs], the pesticides: methoxychlor, 2004; Kallenborn et al. 2013; Cabrerizo et al. 2014). chlorpyrifos and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane Therefore, the paper analyses the possibility of [DDT], and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons atmospheric transport of pollution to the South [PAHs]), and the results of these studies are Shetlands. In addition, due to the still insufficient presented in review articles (e.g. Bargagli 2008; amount of literature data on this subject, particular Corsolini 2009; Szopińska et al. 2016). However, in attention is paid to the possibility of emissions of addition to industry, the combustion of biomass is a volcanic origin in the Southern Hemisphere. very important source of pollution in the Southern Hemisphere, mainly in the form of forest fires (Molina et al. 2015) and natural phenomena, such Geographical background as volcanic eruptions (Dauner et al. 2015). These are above all a source of various forms of carbon (Edwards et al. 2006), including polycyclic aromatic Atmospheric circulation hydrocarbons (Culotta et al. 2007; Fuoco et al. 2012; Kozak et al. 2017). Additionally, during volcanic Atmospheric circulation in the Antarctic Peninsula eruptions metals such as mercury may also enter and the South Shetlands is driven by stationary the atmosphere with dust. This type of research was lows near the Antarctic Peninsula and above the carried out in the northern hemisphere after the Bellingshausen and Weddell Seas bringing prevailing eruption of Mount Etna in Southern Italy in 2001 winds from NW and W to the South Shetland and 2002 (Stracquadanio et al. 2003). However, to Islands (Kejna and Laska 1999). The second driver date, the impact of volcanic activity and forest fires of air masses is migratory cyclones. Based on 15- in the Southern Hemisphere is still insufficiently year synoptic observations, Jones and Simmonds known in Antarctica. (1993) determined two mid-latitude branches Regardless of the source of pollution (natural, of cyclone movement coming into Antarctica – and especially anthropogenic), these substances from the Tasman Sea area and from around South may pose a threat to the Antarctic ecosystem. The America. Other authors (Simmonds and Keay problem is the lack of well-developed detoxification 2000) have indicated that, over the period 1958– mechanisms in Antarctic organisms (Bengtson- 1997, cyclone density over the eastern Antarctic Nash et al. 2010). Moreover, polar ecosystems are Peninsula has increased, in contrast to having very sensitive to the presence of pollution, which decreased in the Antarctic Ocean. Moreover, based disturbs the equilibrium because of the close on numerous climatic works, Russel and McGregor interconnections between individual elements of the (2010) summarised that atmospheric circulation environment. Both bioaccumulation of pollutants patterns in the Southern Hemisphere have changed in the tissues of Antarctic organisms and bio- in the recent past, and this change is thought to have potentiation in the food chain may occur. This is contributed to the warming trend observed in the particularly important for krill and penguins, whose Antarctic Peninsula over the last 50 years (inter alia, occurrence is interdependent (Bengtson-Nash et al. Vaughan et al. 2003; Turner et al. 2005; Vieira et al. 2010). 2008; Bockheim et al. 2013). Regardless of general Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor warming, regional cooling has been observed in pollutant concentration levels in the various the Antarctic Peninsula since the end of the 20th elements of polar environments. No less important century (Turner et al. 2016; Oliva et al. 2017). On is also a detailed knowledge of the ways in which the other hand, based on ice-core aerosol records, pollutants are transported to Antarctica. One such McConnel et al. (2014) associated the intensity of way is the aforementioned long-range atmospheric aerosol transport from industrial areas with the El transport. Although the inflow of pollutants to Niño–Southern Oscillation. Long-range transport the Antarctic is being limited by the range of is recorded to be more vigorous in spring than circumpolar air circulation, the possibility of long- 112 Citation: Bulletin of Geography. Physical Geography Series 2018, 15, http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/bgeo-2018-0020 D. Szumińska et al. Analysis of air mass backward trajectories ... (Antarctica) in other seasons. Moreover, the aforementioned subduction of the South American plate beneath authors observed multi-decadal changes in the Sandwich plate at a rate of 67–79 km/Ma (Leat atmospheric transport, and suggested that regional- et al. 2013). to-global scale circulation plays an important role Another volcanic region of the Southern in modulating aerosol concentrations and climate Hemisphere is the New Zealand area, which has a at multi-decadal timescales in the Antarctic region. particular continental plate collision system (Salmon et al. 2013). New Zealand is on the edge of the Pacific tectonic platform and the tectonic line that Volcanic activity in the Southern Hemisphere is the same fault that goes through Japan and the west coast of the United States (Jarmołowicz-Szulc Within the Southern Hemisphere there are areas of and Kozłowska 2016). It runs along both the North volcanic activity in the regions of South America, and the South island, forming mountain ranges in Antarctica, the South Sandwich Islands and New both parts of New Zealand. Zealand. Within the analysed volcanic areas in the The western coast of South America is covered Southern Hemisphere there are 60 volcanoes whose by plate-edge volcanism associated