PCBs in the atmosphere of King George Island, Antarctica

This data set reports that comparable levels of contamination in seawater from north and south of the Antarctic Convergence indicate that the atmosphere, not the water, is the dominant pathway for the transport of PCB compounds to the Antarctic.

Concentrations of individual PCB congeners, registered during this study, in air, ranged from not detected to 33.2 pg m-3. Concentrations of PCBs were similar to those detected in Ross Island, Signy Island, and Admiralty Bay The study also emphasizes that PCB concentrations are related to meteorological conditions. These results and other studies highlights the predominance of lower chlorinated congeners in the PCB profiles of air samples associated with the frontal system.