WS 3.115: Rise of pollutants in the cryosphere

The cryosphere encompasses areas where water occurs in solid form, including geomorphologic features such as snowpacks, seasonally frozen lakes and rivers, and glaciers. Most of the cryosphere has been considered as pristine until a few decades ago, when the discovery of contaminants in remote areas dismantled this myth. As of now, several contaminants have been detected in environmental matrices of the cryosphere, such as snow and ice. Among them, persistent organic pollutants (e.g. pesticides), radioactive compounds, heavy metals, herbicides, PFAS, and microplastics. Several studies in different areas of the world have now investigated the occurrence and concentration of these contaminant categories in the cryosphere. However, up to this moment, the number of studies regarding interactions among the contaminants, their bioavailability and ecological effects are much less. To understand the role of the cryosphere in contaminant cycling and the extent of the threats that cold-adapted organisms face due to contamination, it is fundamental to expand our knowledge on these topics. Due to the high dynamism of cryospheric environments and their harsh conditions, both in situ and ex situ experiments about contaminants interactions, bioavailability, and ecological effects need careful planning and execution, and we believe an open discussion among scientists will be fruitful for future studies.