PFAS in – A new study mapped PFAS across a 1,200 km transect of Antarctica, showing how air currents, sea spray, and snowfall patterns shape ‘forever chemical’ deposition far inland.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, have been detected even in Antarctica—prompting researchers to ask how these “forever chemicals” get there and where they concentrate as snow accumulates.
The work behind that question recently focused on a sweeping transect across East Antarctica. tracking PFAS from coastal snow near Zhongshan Station to Dome A. a remote high point on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.. By sampling snow along roughly 1. 200 kilometers. the study aimed to move beyond the common assumption that contamination weakens with distance from the shore.
PFAS are notorious not just because they persist for long periods, but because they can travel.. Since the 1950s. these chemicals have been used in many consumer and industrial products—nonstick coatings. waterproofing. stain resistance. and firefighting foams among them.. Their durability means they don’t simply vanish after use; instead. they spread into air. soil. and water and can appear in the bloodstream of humans and animals.. Antarctica, despite its isolation, is turning out to be another endpoint in this broader circulation.
To probe the route. researchers analyzed snow layers collected at multiple depths and spacing intervals along the journey from coast to interior.. Zhongshan Station, positioned near Prydz Bay, provided samples from a one-meter-deep pit taken every five centimeters.. Dome A. reaching 4. 093 meters. offered a deeper archive: a three-meter pit sampled every 10 centimeters. allowing scientists to look back through several decades of deposition.
One central idea is that PFAS reach Antarctica through two main pathways.. First is transport through the upper atmosphere.. Some PFAS can form in the air when more volatile precursor chemicals—used in textiles and paper-related processes—react in sunlight and oxidative conditions.. Over time, these reactions can yield more stable PFAS compounds that then deposit onto the surface through precipitation.
The second pathway is sea spray.. Near the coast, storms generate waves that produce aerosol particles when bubbles burst.. These sea spray aerosols can become enriched with PFAS, delivering them inland with the wind.. To separate this ocean influence from atmospheric transport. the researchers measured sodium in the snow as a proxy for saltwater input.. Sodium levels fell as the samples moved farther inland, indicating that the direct sea-spray signal faded with distance.
But the PFAS pattern did not follow the same logic—and that mismatch became one of the study’s most intriguing findings.. PFAS concentrations increased from the coast toward the interior even as sodium decreased.. The researchers described this as counterintuitive, because a straightforward “more ocean influence equals more PFAS” expectation would suggest the opposite.
The most plausible explanation offered centers on snowfall and dilution.. Coastal regions can receive higher snowfall totals.. More snow means PFAS deposited there may be distributed across a larger mass of ice. effectively diluting concentrations in each sampled layer.. Inland areas tend to collect less snow; even small PFAS inputs can then appear more concentrated in the snow that does accumulate.
Other atmospheric processes can also shape when and how PFAS land.. Levels can rise at the beginning of precipitation events because chemicals are rapidly removed from the air as the storm starts.. Temperature inversions—conditions where warmer air sits above cooler air—can trap pollutants near the surface and alter transport.. Seasonal differences matter too: in coastal zones during winter. sea spray may play a larger role. while in summer. stronger sunlight can help drive atmospheric precursor breakdown into PFAS.
The Antarctic results also feed into a larger global story.. While industrial emissions are often discussed in relation to the Northern Hemisphere. atmospheric circulation can move contamination across hemispheres before deposition occurs.. By comparing trends observed in both polar regions. the study supports the idea that the broad drivers of PFAS distribution are consistent: transport in the upper troposphere can act as an efficient conveyor belt to deliver PFAS to remote ice.
For people and ecosystems far from Antarctica’s interior, the significance is practical even if the location is remote.. Polar snow and ice act as records of atmospheric chemistry over time.. If PFAS can reach the highest. coldest parts of the planet. then efforts to reduce exposure elsewhere are ultimately part of a much longer atmospheric cleanup challenge—one that depends on both emissions and the processes that determine where deposition accumulates.
In a world where PFAS contamination has already been documented across water systems. soils. and wildlife. mapping how these chemicals move through air and marine spray helps refine risk models and monitoring strategies.. Misryoum views such transect studies as essential because they translate persistence into measurable pathways—showing not only that PFAS arrive. but how climate. snowfall. and meteorology determine the spatial pattern of where they end up.