Biogeochemistry: DDT in the ocean.

The article reports on the study conducted by researchers Irene Stemmler and Gerhard Lammel of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry regarding the environmental effects of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in Mainz, Germany. The researchers found that DDT may have accumulated in large amounts to oversaturate the surface waters and be re-emitted into the atmosphere. Using a three-dimensional atmosphere-ocean global circulation model, the researchers found that the western North Atlantic ocean has been re-emitting DDT for more than three decades, longer that most other regions. They also suggests that the distribution of the pesticide has been creeping northwards.