Tara Polaris expeditions: seasonal and long-term contaminant monitoring in the changing central Arctic
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: The central Arctic atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, is heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities. While some contaminants originate from local activities, the majority are transported over long distances via rivers, ocean currents, and atmospheric pathways. Contaminants can have adverse effects on the environment, ecosystems, and human health, which are expected to intensify with continued emissions and warming climate. This article outlines the objectives for new studies on contaminants in the Arctic Ocean, in particular during the Tara Polaris expedition, with an emphasis on year-round long-term contaminant dynamics and associated ecotoxicological risks. Mercury contamination remains a major concern in the Arctic, especially in the form of methylmercury, which is primarily produced by marine microbes. Methylmercury bioconcentrates, bioaccumulates and biomagnifies to harmful levels in Arctic wildlife and threatens indigenous communities. Anthropogenic lead (Pb), though low in Arctic waters, remains toxic and may be remobilized by climate change. Plastic pollution, from nano-to macro-scales, is widespread across all Arctic compartments, closely interacting with planktonic communities and posing ingestion risks to invertebrates, fish, seabirds and mammals (including humans). Chemicals of Emerging Arctic Concern (CEAC), including newly recognized persistent organic pollutants inherited from past industrial activities (e.g., per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)), are more recalcitrant in the environment than many other synthetic compounds, raising serious questions about their long-term ecological and health effects. In this context, the Tara Polaris expeditions aim to produce high-resolution, year-round observational data in the central Arctic to deepen our understanding of contaminant sources, transport, internal cycling and environmental fate. These data will also support the development and refinement of numerical models for contaminant dynamics in the context of both Arctic and global environmental change.
Source: HAL
Authors: Ghiglione, Jean-François, Heimbürger-Boavida, Lars-Eric, Fourquez, Marion, Hough, Ian, Sonke, Jeroen, E., ter Halle, Alexandra, Law, Kathy S., Schmale, Julia, Flores, J. Michel, Gigault, Julien, Ardyna, Mathieu, Kohler, Stephen, Xie, Zhiyong, Cullen, Jay, Geoffroy, Maxime, Moulin, Clémentine, Troublé, Romain, Karp-Boss, Lee, Bowler, Chris, Babin, Marcel, Angot, Hélène
Institutions: Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Microbienne, Institut Méditerranéen d’Océanologie, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Université Grenoble Alpes, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Softmat - Chimie des colloïdes, polymères & assemblages complexes, Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux, observations spatiales, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Weizmann Institute of Science, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Laval, Takuvik Joint International Laboratory, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, University of Victoria, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Fondation Tara Océan, University of Maine, École Normale Supérieure - PSL, Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure
Language: English
Topic: Polar Research and Ecology
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7125621833