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Dechloranes (Decs) have been recently found to occur widely in the environment even in the remote polar regions. However, the understanding of their environmental fate is rather limited. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) may be an important indicator region to study the long-range atmospheric transport and their fates of these emerging contaminants since it has very limited local sources. In the present study, Dechlorane plus (DP), Dechlorane 602 (Dec 602), Dechlorane 603 (Dec 603) and Dechlorane 604 (Dec 604) were analyzed in lichen samples from the southeast TP. The results showed that only DP and Dec 602 were detected, with a detection frequency of 89% and 100%, respectively. The average concentrations (dry weight) of ΣDP and Dec 602 were 318 pg g −1 (20–1132 pg g −1 ) and 167 pg g −1 (27–843 pg g −1 ), respectively. The DP concentration in this study was much higher than those in moss from the remote Ny-Ålesund, Arctic. The concentrations of Dec 602 were found to generally increase with increasing altitude, while DP concentrations seemingly showed an opposite altitudinal trend along the mountain slopes. No stereoselective accumulation or transformation of anti -DP and syn -DP was observed in lichens and the altitudinal behavior of the two isomers was similar. This research documented that Decs are prone to undergo LRAT and cold-trapping by the mountains in the southeast TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are limited data on trace metals in the fishes of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, 62 fish samples were collected from six alpine lakes and a river to investigate the levels and spatial variations of trace metals across the Tibetan Plateau. The concentrations of nine trace elements in fish samples were measured using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer after microwave digestion. Results showed the metal concentrations in the fish muscles had the following ranges: Cr 0.09-0.74 mg/kg, Mn 0.38-4.49 mg/kg, Ni 0.06-0.91 mg/kg, Cu 1.00-32.2 mg/kg, Zn 13.1-102.5 mg/kg, As 0.12-3.10 mg/kg, Pb 0.46-3.22 mg/kg, Ba 0.60-4.93 mg/kg, and Se 0.77-9.38 mg/kg on a dry weight basis, respectively. All the lake-averaged metal concentrations in the fish muscle were below the maximum permissible levels set by the Chinese food health criterion (GB2762-2012). The results were analyzed by multivariate statistical techniques to identify the major factors explaining the variance of metal concentrations in the alpine lakes. This work provides baseline data on metal pollution in common fish species of the Tibetan Plateau, contributing to the effective evaluation of both the environmental quality and health status of organisms in the aquatic ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]