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Distribution of 12 selected polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) was characterized in soil, moss and reindeer dung samples collected simultaneously at Ny-Ålesund of the Arctic. The average PBDE concentrations were 42 pg/g (dry weight) in soil, 122 pg/g in moss and 72 pg/g in reindeer dung. Significant log/log-linear relationship was observed between the soil/moss quotients ( Q SM ) and the sub-cooled liquid vapor pressures of PBDEs ( r 2 = 0.80). Moreover, excellent log/log-linear relationships between Q SM and the octanol/air partition coefficients as well as between the moss/dung quotient ( Q MD ) and the octanol/water partition coefficients of PBDEs were also observed, indicating that the physicochemical properties of PBDEs are appropriate parameters for characterizing the distribution of PBDEs in soil, moss and reindeer dung at Ny-Ålesund. Capsule abstract : Significant log-linear correlations were observed between physicochemical properties of PBDEs and their soil/moss (moss/dung) quotients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Gas- and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected in the atmosphere from the North Pacific to the Arctic Ocean to investigate their occurrence and gas/particle distribution. Significant linear correlations were observed between the gaseous concentrations of 9 PAHs and latitudes (r 2 = 0.69). The regression of gaseous PAHs and 1/T also gave a certain extent correlation (r 2 = 0.46). The gas/particle partition coefficients (K P) correlated well with the sub-cooled liquid vapor pressures (p o L) of PAHs with slopes higher than the theoretical value of −1, and the regressions of logK P–logp o L possessed a general tendency to intersect at a point (−2.52, −1.60). The non-linear regression of logp o L and the particle fraction displayed a more significant correlation (r 2 = 0.84) than the linear relation of logK P–logp o L (r 2 = 0.69). The influence of soot on K P was investigated, and it was found that the predicted values derived from the soot-air model agreed relatively better with the field measurements than those calculated based on the Junge–Pankow model and the K OA-based model. The results indicated that soot played an important role on the partitioning of PAHs to aerosols, and the partitioning of PAHs is more sensitive to presence of elemental carbon compared to organic matter of the aerosol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]