Long-term atmospheric contaminant monitoring for the elucidation of airborne transport processes into polar regions

Abstract

The role of long-term atmospheric monitoring in Polar Regions as a versatile tool for the evaluation and assessment of compound specific distribution and transport processes, is today fully recognised by the international scientific community as well as by regulatory authorities. Important phenomena like polar springtime depletion of mercury, POP and trace metal atmospheric long-range transport, as well as Arctic haze have been studied in detail through circum Arctic atmospheric monitoring programs. However, the today ongoing monitoring initiatives (including Arctic and Antarctic monitoring initiatives) are mostly regionally oriented and, thus, face considerable challenges in adapting and harmonising monitoring programs to the aspects of global transport processes. The need for close co-operation between international atmospheric monitoring programs is recognised and will be a priority task for future monitoring initiatives. Topics like sample and method harmonisation, joint quality control criteria as well as continuous inter-comparison, will be issues to be discussed and implemented in co-operation programs between international and regional atmospheric monitoring initiatives. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.