Climate Change Remobilizes …

… Long Buried Pollution as Arctic Ice Melts

Trapped toxic chemicals are escaping from melting snow and ice in the Arctic, according to new research

Check out the following article from the Scientific American by Lauren Morello and ClimateWire  | July 25, 2011 | 11

Warming in the Arctic is causing the release of toxic chemicals long trapped in the region’s snow, ice, ocean and soil, according to a new study.

Researchers from Canada, China and Norway say their work provides the first evidence that some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are being “remobilized” into the Arctic atmosphere.

“Our results indicate that a wide range of POPs have been remobilized into the Arctic atmosphere over the past two decades as a result of climate change, confirming that Arctic warming could undermine global efforts to reduce environmental and human exposure to these toxic chemicals,” write the scientists, whose analysis was published yesterday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

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