SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Pristine Arctic ecosystems are one of the most fragile and fast responding to global environmental changes, thus representing a promising "natural laboratory" for studies on global changes. Most monitoring programs and scientific studies focus on already known contaminants like polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides or “newer” environmental contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and brominated flame retardants (BFR) or even artificial radionuclides. Models have predicted that the direct effect of climate change on the environmental concentrations of “legacy” contaminants (from e.g. changing temperature, wind patterns and precipitation, as well as melting of ice and permafrost) is often predicted to be within a factor of 2-3 of existing concentrations (e.g. Gouin et al. 2013, Armitage et al. 2011, Kong et al. 2014). Especially the Arctic atmosphere is expected to respond rapidly to environmental changes and is, therefore, chosen as an environmental medium for the HERMOSA intiative. In a collaborative effort, the team of the project Harmonising Environmental Research and Monitoring of Priority Pollutants in the Svalbard Atmosphere (HERMOSA) applies for financial support to organize a joint seminar and international scientific workshop allowing a comprehensive integration of the ongoing research and academic educational activities on Svalbard in the field of fate and distribution of atmospheric aerosols including mineral and organic particulate matter. Within the HERMOSA project, we intend to: • Provide complete information on the relevant atmospheric aerosol research projects and infrastructure in Svalbard related to them, to evaluate the current knowledge gaps in the field. • Develop research priorities for joint research programs. • Provide a platform for scientific networking and knowledge exchange. • Refine the existing sampling protocols for a more efficient way to approach multidisciplinary projects.