Trace Metals, Fly-ash Particles and Persistent Organic Pollutants in European Remote Mountain Lakes

Many anthropogenic pollutants emitted to the atmosphere can be transported over large distances and affect ecosystems and human health thousands of kilometres from their source. In recent years, concern has grown over the increased contamination of remote areas, particularly the Arctic and mountain regions, and the unprecedented levels of pollutants observed in areas previously considered to be pristine. Atmospheric transport is one of the most efficient and rapid means by which toxic pollutants, including trace metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), can be transferred to remote areas. Understanding the pathways and mechanisms from source to sink is thus vitally important. Atmospheric transport models predict that sources of pollutants to remote areas are widespread and diverse, such that there are contributions from “local” and regional sources, as well as transboundary and even global inputs (e.g. Hanisch 1998).