Air-Water Distribution of POPs Along a North-South Atlantic Transect

The content of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethene (4,4′-DDE), and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined from the island of Texel (The 29 Netherlands) to Walvis Bay (Namibia) and Cape Town (South Africa).The concentrations of HCB range from 2 to 9 pg L-1 in water and from 56 to 145 pg m-3 in air.

Concentrations of 4,4’-DDE in water ranged from 0.3 to 1.4 pg L-1, which is similar to the values found in previous studies carried out in the North Atlantic (0.4–0.6 pg L-1). Atmospheric 4,4’-DDE concentrations range from 0.1 to 0.9 pg m-3 were somewhat smaller than the values of 1.3–6.3 pg m-3 observed in the same area during one cruise carried out in April 1990. During the same cruises the contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and one emerging class of pollutants (polychlorinated naphthalenes, PCNs) were determined.