Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Iron-Promoted Transformation of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Arctic Ecosystems  (Transformation of POPs in the Arctic)

Outline
Persistent organic pollutants are globally distributed and have the potential to accumulate within, and magnify up, the food web. Non-trivial amounts of these compounds accumulate in Arctic regions, which pose a risk to humans and higher trophic level species in these regions because of their reported deleterious health effects. Little attention has been given to identifying degradation pathways of POPs in these extreme environments. Existing literature has shown that reduced iron species can transform certain chlorinated organic pollutants in laboratory and natural mid-latitude systems, however no studies of such chemistry have been conducted in the Arctic. It will be important to assess the propensity for iron-mediated processes to transform POPs in the Arctic environment and to characterize the transformation products, since the toxicological nature of the product may be altered from that of the parent pollutant. We propose to study how iron species may mediate the transformation of POPs in sediments, porewaters and soils sampled from the Toolik Lake, Alaska region (a freshwater, Arctic Long Term Ecological Research site). We will study a suite of compounds to determine the reactivity of various pollutant classes in Arctic systems. Overarching Project Goal: Given the reported composition of Arctic sediments in the Toolik Lake region, we anticipate that sediment components will promote the degradation of persistent organic pollutants through biotic and abiotic processes. Hypotheses we will investigate: H1. Biota assist POP degradation directly (through metabolic degradation pathways) and indirectly (through maintenance of anaerobic sediment environments). H2. Reduced iron species in anoxic environments are key components in promoting the abiotic degradation pathway of target POPs. H3. Dissolved organic matter in sediments and sediment porewaters modifies sediment component reactivity. The extent that DOM influences the reactivity will depend on its composition. We anticipate that compositional differences will manifest themselves with respect to the reactivity of DOM measured from different systems (hence a source function) and in response to the abiotic and biotic processes that change the DOM within a system.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
This project addresses themes #1, #2 and #3. Determining the current levels and transformation chemistry of POPs in the Arctic helps us better understand the present environmental status of the polar regions (Theme 1). The elucidation of POP transformation mechanisms will enable us to quantify/understand the environmental change induced by the influx of anthropogenic pollutants to the Arctic (Theme 2) and therefore, will help us understand better the links between the polar regions and the rest of the globe and how lower latitude pollution sources are affecting the environment and health of high latitude polar regions (Theme 3).

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
No current international collaboration.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Toolik Lake, Alaska (LTER Site) and surrounding lakes

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 06/2006      06/2007-07/2007      
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
This project will make use of the existing facilities at the Toolik LTER site, with logistic support provided by VECO.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
We believe our legacy will be to open up new areas for investigation of organic contaminant transformation in polar regions. However, no physical infrastructure will result from this project.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
National agency

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
No current endorsement

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
New

This is a new proposal for submission to the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs.

How will the project be organised and managed?
This project will be self-managed by the Principal Investigators. The project is collaborative in nature, involving three institutions (Penney L. Miller, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology; Amanda M. Grannas, Villanova University; Christine Foreman, Montana State University).

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Outreach activities will include interaction with local high school students at our home institutions and will involve public speaking engagements about climate change and Arctic science issues. A number of undergraduate students will participate directly in the research and the project will also support graduate students.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data generated from this project will need to be carefully interpreted by the PI’s and will not be available in raw form to the general public. Results will be reported at local and national meetings, in the scientific literature and on our university websites.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs, Arctic Natural Sciences (proposal to be submitted January 24, 2005).

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Amanda Grannas
Dept of Chemistry, Villanova University
800 Lancaster Ave
Villanova PA
19085
USA

Tel: 610 519 4881
Mobile: no
Fax: no
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation