Atmospheric Transport of Mercury to the Tibetan Plateau

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (22) ◽  
pp. 7632-7638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Loewen ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Debbie Armstrong ◽  
Qianggong Zhang ◽  
Gregg Tomy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau

scholarly journals Occurrence and Spatial Distribution of the Neutral Per-fluoroalkyl Substances, and Cyclic Volatile Methylsiloxanes in Atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Wang ◽  
Jasmin Schuster ◽  
Kevin C. Jones ◽  
Ping Gong
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Capital City ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Transport Channel ◽  
Local Contribution ◽  
Remote Environment ◽  
Global Background

Abstract. Due to their properties of bioaccumulation, toxicity, and long-range atmospheric transport, poly and per-fluoroalkylsubstances (PFASs), and cyclic volatile methyl silxoanes (cVMS) are currently being considered as emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for regulation. To date, there are limited data on PFASs and cVMS in the atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a remote environment which can provide information on global background conditions. Sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam (SIP) disk passive air samplers were therefore deployed for three months (May to July 2011 and 2013) at 16 locations across the TP. Using previously reported methods for estimating the air volume sampled by SIP disks, the derived atmospheric concentrations ranged as follows: 18–565 ng/m3 for ∑cVMS (including D3, D4, D5, and D6); 65–223 pg/m3 for fluorotelomer alcohols (∑FTOHs); 1.2–12.8 pg/m3 for fluorinated sulfonamides (∑FOSA); and 0.29–1.02 pg/m3 for fluorinated sulfonamidoethanols (∑FOSE). The highest ∑cVMS occurred at Lhasa, the capital city of the TP, indicating the local contribution to the emerging pollutants. Higher levels of ∑FTOHs were observed at sites close to the transport channel of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, indicating possible long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT). Elevated concentrations of shorter-chain volatile PFAS precursors (4 : 2 FTOH and fluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol) were found in most air samples, reflecting the shift in production from long- to short-chain PFASs in Asia. Overall, concentrations of emerging POPs at background sites of the TP were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than those reported for legacy POPs.

scholarly journals Occurrence and spatial distribution of neutral perfluoroalkyl substances and cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes in the atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 8745-8755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Wang ◽  
Jasmin Schuster ◽  
Kevin C. Jones ◽  
Ping Gong
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Grand Canyon ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Perfluoroalkyl Substances ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Transport Channel ◽  
Remote Environment ◽  
Global Background

Abstract. Due to their properties of bioaccumulation, toxicity, and long-range atmospheric transport, polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMSs) are currently being considered as emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for regulation. To date, there are limited data on PFASs and cVMSs in the atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau (TP), a remote environment which can provide information on global background conditions. Sorbent-impregnated polyurethane foam (SIP) disc passive air samplers were therefore deployed for 3 months (May to July 2011 and 2013) at 16 locations across the TP. Using previously reported methods for estimating the air volume sampled by SIP discs, the derived atmospheric concentrations ranged as follows: 18–565 ng m−3 for ΣcVMS (including D3, D4, D5, and D6); 65–223 pg m−3 for fluorotelomer alcohols (ΣFTOHs); 1.2–12.8 pg m−3 for fluorinated sulfonamides (ΣFOSA); and 0.29–1.02 pg m−3 for fluorinated sulfonamidoethanols (ΣFOSE). The highest ΣcVMS occurred at Lhasa, the capital city of the TP, indicating the local contribution to the emerging pollutants. Higher levels of ΣFTOHs were observed at sites close to the transport channel of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, indicating possible long-range atmospheric transport (LRAT). Elevated concentrations of shorter-chain volatile PFAS precursors (4 : 2 FTOH and fluorobutane sulfonamidoethanol) were found in most air samples, reflecting the shift in production from long- to short-chain PFASs in Asia. Overall, concentrations of emerging POPs at background sites of the TP were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than those reported for legacy POPs.

scholarly journals Culturable bacteria isolated from seven high-altitude ice cores on the Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (249) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
YONGQIN LIU ◽  
JOHN C. PRISCU ◽  
TANDONG YAO ◽  
TRISTA J. VICK-MAJORS ◽  
ALEXANDER B. MICHAUD ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Temperature Tolerance ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Culturable Bacteria ◽  
New Information ◽  
Culture Independent ◽  
Glacier Ice

ABSTRACTMicroorganisms are the most abundant organisms on Earth, and microbial abundance records preserved in ice cores have been connected to records of environmental change. As an alternative to high resolution abundance records, which can be difficult to recover, we used culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to examine bacteria in glacier ice from the Tibetan Plateau (TP). We recovered a total of 887 bacterial isolates from ice cores of up to 164 m in depth retrieved from seven glaciers, located across the TP. These isolates were related to 53 genera in theActinobacteria,Firmicutes,Bacteroidetes, andProteobacteria, with 13 major genera accounting for 78% of isolates. Most of the genera were common across the geographic region covered by our sampling, but there were differences in the genera recovered from different depths in the ice, with the deepest portions of the ice cores dominated by a single genus (Sporosarcina). Because microorganisms deposited on glaciers must survive atmospheric transport under a range of temperatures, temperature tolerance should be an important survival mechanism. We tested isolate growth across a range of temperatures (0–35 °C), and found psychrotolerance to be common. Together, our results show that ice depth, and by extension age, are characterized by different types of microorganisms, providing new information about microbial records in ice.

scholarly journals Carbonaceous Matter in the Atmosphere and Glaciers of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau: An Investigative Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaoliu Li ◽  
Fangping Yan ◽  
shichang kang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Carbonaceous Matter ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
Atmospheric Transport Modeling

<p>Carbonaceous matter, including organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC), is an important climate forcing agent and contributes to glacier retreat in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau (HTP). The HTP - the so-called “Third Pole” – contains the most extensive glacial area outside of the polar regions. Considerable research on carbonaceous matter in the HTP has been conducted, although this research has been challenging due to the complex terrain and strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity of carbonaceous matter in the HTP. A comprehensive investigation of published atmospheric and snow data for HTP carbonaceous matter concentration, deposition and light absorption is presented, including how these factors vary with time and other parameters. Carbonaceous matter concentrations in the atmosphere and glaciers of the HTP are found to be low. Analysis of water-insoluable organic carbon and BC from snowpits reveals that concentrations of OC and BC in the atmosphere and glacier samples in arid regions of the HTP may be overestimated due to contributions from inorganic carbon in mineral dust. Due to the remote nature of the HTP, carbonaceous matter found in the HTP has generally been transported from outside the HTP (e.g., South Asia), although local HTP emissions may also be important at some sites. This study provides essential data and a synthesis of current thinking for studies on atmospheric transport modeling and radiative forcing of carbonaceous matter in the HTP.</p>

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