Popular Science Talk: Emerging pollutants and trace elements in Spitsbergen snow

Presented by Marianna D’Amico (UniVenezia), Beatrice Rosso (UniVenezia) and Federico Scoto (CNR).

Place: Kongsfjordhallen
Time: 17:30

Heavy metals (i.e. Hg, Pb, As ), microplastics, fragrances, organic UV filters, and pesticides can pose a threat to human and environmental health. To quantify their abundance and spatial distribution in the seasonal snowpack, we collect weekly samples from the Gruvebadet snow camp and additional samples from the main glaciers surrounding Ny-Ålesund.
The study of these chemicals in the Spitzbergen snow might help to provide new insights about their source and the long-range atmospheric transport through the atmospheric compartment.