(pops) in the western south atlantic and antarctic biota

104 Pages·2016·4.48 MB·English

by  Erin Markham

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Open Access Master's Theses
2015
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Erin Markham
University of Rhode Island, [email protected]
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Markham, Erin, "EMERGING PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS) IN THE WESTERN SOUTH
ATLANTIC AND ANTARCTIC BIOTA" (2015). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 472.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/472
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion
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EMERGING PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS)
IN THE
WESTERN SOUTH ATLANTIC AND ANTARCTIC BIOTA

BY
ERIN MARKHAM

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN
OCEANOGRAPHY

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
2015
MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS
OF
ERIN MARKHAM

APPROVED:

Thesis Committee:

Major Professor Rainer Lohmann

Brice Loose

Vinka Craver

Nasser H. Zawia
DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
2015
ABSTRACT
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are largely synthetically produced chemicals that
are known to persist in the environment, bioaccumulate, have the potential to be
transported long distances, and cause adverse effects. There are legacy POPs that have
been around for decades and have either been banned or strictly regulated, but are still
found in the environment; and there are emerging POPs that are either not yet or are very
newly regulated. This research focuses on contributions to the global dataset of emerging
POPs by investigating hydrophilic perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in surface waters
and at depth of the Western South Atlantic; as well as hydrophobic polybrominated
diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Antarctic biota (plankton, krill, fish, fur seal milk). PFAS
were found in all surface waters (ΣPFAS 20.3 – 525.8 pg/L) and at depths of up to 5526
m. This confirms the infiltration of these compounds into our global oceans. PBDEs
were detected at the highest concentrations in Antarctic plankton (plankton > krill > fur
seal milk > fish). This is contrary to the biomagnification seen in many legacy
compounds and indicates the potential for biodilution and species-specific metabolic
processes occurring. These data contribute to the growing knowledge of emerging
pollutants in the southern hemisphere, which is generally less prominently covered in
terms of pollution studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped me during this process over the past
few years. To Dr. Rainer Lohmann: thank you for all of the unique opportunities I was
able to take part in and thank you for all of the advice and feedback provided along the
way. This work could not have been done without funding, which was largely provided
by NSF. To everyone in the Lohmann lab, past and present: thank you for all of your
peer-support; to Dr. Autumn Oczkowski and everyone at EPA for all of your help and
guidance in getting me here; to everyone at the Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in
the Environment (RECETOX): many thanks for all of your efforts and assistance in this
work; and my deepest thanks to all family and friends for all of your encouragement and
support.
iii
PREFACE
This preface is included with the explicit intention to note that Manuscript Format has
been used in the preparation of this thesis.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………iii

PREFACE…………………………………………………………………………………..iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………....v

LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………...vi

LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………….vii

CHAPTER 1…………………………………………………………………………………1
PERFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES IN SURFACE WATERS AND AT DEPTH IN THE WESTERN
SOUTH ATLANTIC

CHAPTER 2………………………………………………………………………………..30
TIME TRENDS OF POLYBROMINATED DIPHENYL ETHERS (PBDES) IN ANTARCTIC FUR SEAL
MILK, AND THEIR TROPHIC TRANSFER

SUPPORTING INFORMATION………………………………………………………………59

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………...91

v
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1.1 ...COMPARISON OF OTHER PFAS LITERATURE………………………………...29
TABLE 2.1 ...TROPHIC LEVELS FROM 2010/11 FOOD WEB………………………………....58
TABLE 2.2 ...AVERAGE TROPHIC MAGNIFICATION FACTORS FOR 2010/11 FOOD WEB….…58
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE 1.1 ...MAP OF PFAS SAMPLING LOCATIONS.……………………………………..19
FIGURE 1.2… Σ6PFAS IN SURFACE WATER SAMPLES AND THEIR PERCENT COMPOSITION.20
FIGURE 1.3.1…PFAS PROFILE OF STA. 1, 2, 3, 5………………………………………....21
FIGURE 1.3.2…PFAS PROFILE OF STA. 7, 10, 12, 13………….…………….…………....22
FIGURE 1.3.3…PFAS PROFILE OF STA. 15, 19, 22, 23…………………………………....23
FIGURE 1.4.1…PFAS COMPOSITION OF STA. 1, 2, 3, 5…………………………………....24
FIGURE 1.4.2…PFAS COMPOSITION OF STA. 7, 10, 12, 13………..……………………....25
FIGURE 1.4.3…PFAS COMPOSITION OF STA. 15, 19, 22, 23……………………………....26
FIGURE 1.5…PFAS CONCENTRATIONS IN DEEP WATER MASSES SAMPLED……………….27
FIGURE 1.6…ΣPFAS IN SURFACE AND DEEP WATER MASSES.…………………………....28
FIGURE 2.1…MAP OF SAMPLING RANGE……………………………………………….....54
FIGURE 2.2…AVERAGE ΣPBDES FUR SEAL MILK AND PERCENT COMPOSITION……….....55
FIGURE 2.3…AVERAGE ΣPBDES OF PLANKTON AND KRILL………………………….....56
FIGURE 2.1…AVERAGE ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION……..……………………………….....57

vii
CHAPTER 1
PERFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES (PFAS) IN SURFACE WATERS AND AT DEPTH OF THE
WESTERN SOUTH ATLANTIC

MANUSCRIPT IN PREPARATION FOR SUBMISSION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
ERIN MARKHAM1, 2, PAVLÍNA KARÁSKOVÁ2, JITKA BEČANOVÁ2, JANA KLÁNOVÁ2, RAINER
LOHMANN1
1 – UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF OCEANOGRAPHY, 215 SOUTH
FERRY RD, NARRAGANSETT, RI 02840
2 – RESEARCH COMPOUND FOR TOXIC COMPOUNDS IN THE ENVIRONMENT, MASARYK
UNIVERSITY, KAMENICE 3/126, 625 00 BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC

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