From July to September 2008, air samples were collected aboard the R/V XUE LONG icebreaker （Snow Dragon） as part of the 2008 Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition program. ∑20PCBs in the atmosphere ranged from 6.20 to 365 pg.m^-3 with average concentration 117±107 pg.m^- 3. Congener profiles in all samples showed a prevalence of tri- and tetrachlorobiphenyls, dominated by PCB-18, PCB-28, PCB-44 and PCB-52. Along the cruise, the highest concentration was observed over the Sea of Japan and the lowest over the high-latitude Arctic Ocean. Air mass backward trajectories indicated that samples with relatively high levels of PCBs might have been influenced by atmospheric transport of these chemicals from primary and/ or secondary sources. PCB-18 displayed a significant correlation between vapor pressure and ambient temperature along the cruise, but there was no such correlation between gas-phase concentration and latitude. This suggests that atmospheric PCB-18 was related to volatilization from the earth surface during summer 2008, during which temperatures were relatively high. PCB-52 presented a significant correlation between gas-phase concentration and latitude, but no such correlation was found between vapor pressure and ambient temperature, indicating that atmospheric PCB-52 detected during the cruise might be attributed directly to atmospheric transport from source regions. In the Arctic, levels of PCB-52 in the floating sea ice region were higher than those measured in the open sea area and pack ice region. Intense ice retreat during summer 2008 might have enhanced the volatilization of previously accumulated PCBs from sea ice, especially those with heavier molecular weight and lower vapor pressure such as PCB-52.
WU XiaoguoJames C W LamXIA ChonghuanKANG HuiXIE ZhouqingPaul K S Lam
TGM measurements on board ships have proved to provide valuable complementary information to measurements by a ground based monitoring network.During the third China Arctic Research Expedition （from July 11 to September 24,2008）,TGM concentrations over the marine boundary layer along the cruise path were in-situ measured using an automatic mercury vapor analyzer.Here we firstly reported the results in Japan Sea,North Western Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea,where there are rare reports.The value ranged between 0.30 and 6.02 ng/m 3 with an average of （1.52 ± 0.68） ng/m 3 ,being slightly lower than the background value of Northern Hemisphere （1.7 ng/m 3 ）.Notably TGM showed considerably spatial and temporal variation.Geographically,the average value of TGM in Bering Sea was higher than those observed in Japan Sea and North Western Pacific Ocean.In the north of Japan Sea TGM levels were found to be lower than 0.5 ng/m 3 during forward cruise and displayed obviously diurnal cycle,indicating potential oxidation of gaseous mercury in the atmosphere.The pronounced episode was recorded as well.Enhanced levels of TGM were observed in the coastal regions of southern Japan Sea during backward cruise due primarily to air masses transported from the adjacent mainland reflecting the contribution from anthropogenic sources.When ship returned back and passed through Kamchatka Peninsula TGM increased by the potential contamination from volcano emissions.
