%0 journal article
%@ 
%A Vecchiato, M.,Barbante, C.,Barbaro, E.,Burgay, F.,Cairns, W.R.L.,Callegaro, A.,Cappelletti, D.,Dallo, F.,D'Amico, M.,Feltracco, M.,Gallet, J.C.,Gambaro, A.,Larose, C.,Maffezzoli, N.,Mazzola, M.,Sartorato, I.,Scoto, F.,Turetta, C.,Vardè, M.,Xie, Z.,Spolaor, A.

%D 2024
%J Environmental Pollution
%N 
%P 122864 
%R doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122864
%T The seasonal change of PAHs in Svalbard surface snow
%U https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122864
 
%X The Arctic region is threatened by contamination deriving from both long-range pollution and local human activities. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental tracers of emission, transport and deposition processes. A first campaign has been conducted at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, from October 2018 to May 2019, monitoring weekly concentrations of PAHs in Arctic surface snow. The trend of the 16 high priority PAH compounds showed that long-range inputs occurred mainly in the winter, with concentrations ranging from 0.8 ng L−1 to 37 ng L−1. In contrast to this, the most abundant analyte retene, showed an opposite seasonal trend with highest values in autumn and late spring (up to 97 ng L−1), while in winter this compound remained below 3 ng L−1. This is most likely due to local contributions from outcropping coal deposits and stockpiles. Our results show a general agreement with the atmospheric signal, although significant skews can be attributed to post-depositional processes, wind erosion, melting episodes and redistribution.