Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Organochlorine Pollutants within a Polythermal Glacier in the Interior Eastern Alaska Range

Kimberley R. Miner
* ORCID logo ,
Seth Campbell
ORCID logo ,
Christopher Gerbi
,
Anna Lilijedahl
,
Therese Anderson
,
B. Lewis Perkins
,
Steven Bernsen
,
Tiffany Gatesman
,
Karl J. Kreutz
*
Version 1 : Received: 8 August 2018 / Approved: 9 August 2018 / Online: 9 August 2018 (00:40:50 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Miner, K.R.; Campbell, S.; Gerbi, C.; Liljedahl, A.; Anderson, T.; Perkins, L.B.; Bernsen, S.; Gatesman, T.; Kreutz, K.J. Organochlorine Pollutants within a Polythermal Glacier in the Interior Eastern Alaska Range. Water 2018, 10, 1157. Miner, K.R.; Campbell, S.; Gerbi, C.; Liljedahl, A.; Anderson, T.; Perkins, L.B.; Bernsen, S.; Gatesman, T.; Kreutz, K.J. Organochlorine Pollutants within a Polythermal Glacier in the Interior Eastern Alaska Range. Water 2018, 10, 1157.

Abstract

To assess the presence of organochlorine pollutants (OCP) in Alaskan sub-Arctic latitudes, we analyzed ice core and meltwater samples from Jarvis Glacier, a polythermal glacier in Interior Alaska. Jarvis Glacier is receding as atmospheric warming continues throughout the region, increasing opportunity for OCP transport both englacially and into the proglacial watershed. Across all meltwater and ice core samples we identify the pesticides DDT, DDE and DDD, α- HCH and ϒ-HCH. OCP concentrations in ice core samples were highest at the 7-14 m depth (0.51 ng/L of DDT) and decreased gradually approaching the bedrock at 79m. Meltwater concentrations from the proglacial creek slightly exceeded concentrations found in the ice core, potentially indicating aggregate OCP glacial loss, with peak OCP concentration (1.12 ng/L of DDD) taken in July and potentially associated to peak melt. Ongoing use of DDT to fight Malaria in Asia, and the extended atmospheric range of HCH may account for concentrations in near-surface ice, correlating with use and atmospheric transport. The opportunity for biota bioaccumulation of OCPs, or human uptake of OCPs from glacial meltwater, may increase as glacial melt continues.

Keywords

persistent pollutants; risk assessment; arctic; glacial melt; climate change;human health; alaska; alpine glacier; Alaska Range

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Environmental Science

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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