Perfluorinated Acids in Arctic Snow: New Evidence for Atmospheric Formation
Abstract
Perfluorinated acids (PFAs) are ubiquitously found in water and biota, including remote regions such as the High Arctic. Under environmental conditions, PFAs exist mainly as anions and are not expected to be subject to long-range atmospheric transport in the gas phase. Fluorinated telomer alcohols (FTOHs) are volatile and can be atmospherically oxidized to form perfluorocarboxylic acids. Analogously, fluorosulfamido alcohols can be oxidized to form perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). High Arctic ice caps experience contamination solely from atmospheric sources. By examining concentrations of PFAs in ice cap samples, it is possible to determine atmospheric fluxes to the Arctic. Ice samples were collected from high Arctic ice caps in the spring of 2005 and 2006. Samples were concentrated using solid-phase extraction and analyzed by LC-MS-MS. PFAs were observed in all samples, dating from 1996 to 2005. Concentrations were in the low-mid pg L(-1) range and exhibited seasonality, with maximum concentrations in the spring-summer. The presence of perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA) on the ice cap was indicative of atmospheric oxidation as a source. Ratios of PFAs to sodium concentrations were highly variable, signifying PFA concentrations on the ice cap were unrelated to marine chemistry. Fluxes of the PFAs were estimated to the area north of 65 degrees N for the 2005 season, which ranged from 114 to 587 kg year(-1) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 73 to 860 kg year(-1) for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), 16 to 84 kg year(-1) for PFDA, 26 to 62 kg year(-1) for PFUnA, and 18 to 48 kg year(-1) for PFOS. The PFOA and PFNA fluxes agreed with FTOH modeling estimations. A decrease in PFOS concentrations through time was observed, suggesting a fast response to changes in production. These data suggest that atmospheric oxidation of volatile precursors is a primary source of PFAs to the Arctic.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
PFASs can form on snow or ice surfaces through the breakdown of precursors like FTOH when exposed to sunlight, increasing iPFASs in soil after deposition.
“PFASs can also form on snow or ice surfaces through the breakdown of precursors like FTOH when exposed to sunlight. This photochemical degradation increases the levels of iPFASs in the soil after deposition [151,152].”
From Industrial Applications, Environmental Fate, Human Exposure, and Health Effects of PFAS (2025) · cites this paper as [152]
PFAS concentrations in Arctic ice caps exhibited seasonal variation, highest in spring followed by summer.
“exhibited seasonal variation, highest in spring, followed by summer.”
From Per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a contaminant of emerging concern in surface water: A transboundary review of their occurrences and toxicity effects (2021) · cites this paper as Young et al., 2007
PFAS concentrations were observed in Arctic ice caps from 1996 to 2005 in the pg/L range.
“from 1996 to 2005, PFAS concentrations were observed in Arctic ice caps, although in pg/L range”
From Per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a contaminant of emerging concern in surface water: A transboundary review of their occurrences and toxicity effects (2021) · cites this paper as Young et al., 2007
Cites
Global Distribution of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate in Wildlife
Giesy, J. P., & Kannan, K. (2001) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es001834k · Cited by 2,750 · see citing works
Sources, fate and transport of perfluorocarboxylates
Prevedouros, K., Cousins, I. T., Buck, R. C., & Korzeniowski, S. H. (2006) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es0512475 · Cited by 2,594 · see citing works
Glaciochemistry of polar ice cores: A review
Legrand, M., & Mayewski, P. A. (1997) · Reviews of Geophysics · doi:10.1029/96rg03527 · Cited by 798 · see citing works
A global survey of perfluorinated acids in oceans
Yamashita, N., Kannan, K., Taniyasu, S., Horii, Y., Petrick, G., & Gamo, T. (2005) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2005.04.026 · Cited by 639 · see citing works
Yamashita, N., Kannan, K., Taniyasu, S., Horii, Y., Okazawa, T., Petrick, G., & Gamo, T. (2004) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es0492541 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
Gridded North American monthly snow depth and snow water equivalent for GCM evaluation
Brown, R. D., Brasnett, B., & Robinson, D. A. (2003) · ATMOSPHERE-OCEAN · doi:10.3137/ao.410101 · Cited by 330 · see citing works
Shoeib, M., Harner, T., Wilford, B. H., Jones, K. C., & Zhu, J. (2005) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es048340y · Cited by 328 · see citing works
A review of pollutants in the sea-surface microlayer (SML): a unique habitat for marine organisms
Wurl, O., & Obbard, J. P. (2004) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.03.016 · Cited by 328 · see citing works
Martin, J. W., Ellis, D. A., Mabury, S. A., Hurley, M. D., & Wallington, T. J. (2005) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es051362f · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Self-citationPerfluorinated Chemicals in the Arctic Atmosphere
Shoeib, M., Harner, T., & Vlahos, P. (2006) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es0618999 · Cited by 309 · see citing works
Wallington, T. J., Hurley, M. D., Xia, J., Wuebbles, D. J., Sillman, S., Ito, A., Penner, J. E., Ellis, D. A., Martin, J. W., Mabury, S. A., et al. (2005) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es051858x · Cited by 304 · see citing works
Self-citationModeling Global-Scale Fate and Transport of Perfluorooctanoate Emitted from Direct Sources
Armitage, J. M., Cousins, I. T., Buck, R. C., Prevedouros, K., Russell, M. H., MacLeod, M., & Korzeniowski, S. H. (2006) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es0614870 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Atmospheric Lifetime of Fluorotelomer Alcohols
Ellis, D. A., Martin, J. W., Mabury, S. A., Hurley, M. D., Sulbaek Andersen, M. P., & Wallington, T. J. (2003) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es034136j · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Self-citationMarty, J., Saliot, A., Buat‐Ménard, P., et al. (1979) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/jc084ic09p05707 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Smithwick, M., Norstrom, R. J., Mabury, S. A., Solomon, K. R., Evans, T. J., Stirling, I., Taylor, M. K., & Muir, D. C. G. (2006) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es051750h · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Self-citationMass balance of glaciers in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, Canada
Koerner, R. M. (2005) · Annals of Glaciology · doi:10.3189/172756405781813122 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Self-citationPreservation of glaciochemical time‐series in snow and ice from the Penny Ice Cap, Baffin Island
Grumet, N. S., Wake, C. P., Zielinski, G. A., et al. (1998) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/97gl03787 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
A 100 year record of ion chemistry from Agassiz Ice Cap Northern Ellesmere Island NWT, Canada
Koerner, R. M. (1999) · Atmospheric Environment · doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(98)00166-6 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Kurwadkar, S., Dane, J., Kanel, S. R., Nadagouda, M. N., Cawdrey, R. W., Ambade, B., Struckhoff, G. C., & Wilkin, R. (2022) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151003 · Cited by 937 · see citing works
Polyfluoroalkyl compounds in the aquatic environment: a review of their occurrence and fate
Ahrens, L. (2011) · J. Environ. Monit. · doi:10.1039/c0em00373e · Cited by 759 · see citing works
Wang, Z., Cousins, I. T., Scheringer, M., Buck, R. C., & Hungerbühler, K. (2014) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2014.04.013 · Cited by 735 · see citing works
Podder, A., Sadmani, A. H. M. A., Reinhart, D., Chang, N.-B., & Goel, R. (2021) · Journal of Hazardous Materials · doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126361 · Cited by 623 · see citing works
Wang, S., Huang, J., Yang, Y., Hui, Y., Ge, Y., Larssen, T., Yu, G., Deng, S., Wang, B., & Harman, C. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es401525n · Cited by 620 · see citing works
Kim, S.-K., & Kannan, K. (2007) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es072107t · Cited by 445 · see citing works
Rankin, K., Mabury, S. A., Jenkins, T. M., & Washington, J. W. (2016) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.06.109 · Cited by 344 · see citing works
Self-citationZhao, P., Xia, X., Dong, J., Xia, N., Jiang, X., Li, Y., & Zhu, Y. (2016) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.221 · Cited by 322 · see citing works
Ruan, T., Lin, Y., Wang, T., Liu, R., & Jiang, G. (2015) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b01010 · Cited by 291 · see citing works
Wang, Z., Cousins, I. T., Scheringer, M., Buck, R. C., & Hungerbühler, K. (2014) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2014.04.006 · Cited by 242 · see citing works
Dreyer, A., Weinberg, I., Temme, C., & Ebinghaus, R. (2009) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es9010465 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
Land, M., de Wit, C. A., Bignert, A., Cousins, I. T., Herzke, D., Johansson, J. H., & Martin, J. W. (2018) · Environmental Evidence · doi:10.1186/s13750-017-0114-y · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Levels and trends of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances in the Arctic environment – An update
Muir, D., Bossi, R., Carlsson, P., Evans, M., De Silva, A., Halsall, C., Rauert, C., Herzke, D., Hung, H., Letcher, R., et al. (2019) · Emerging Contaminants · doi:10.1016/j.emcon.2019.06.002 · Cited by 209 · see citing works
Self-citationLi, F., Zhang, C., Qu, Y., Chen, J., Chen, L., Liu, Y., & Zhou, Q. (2010) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.10.032 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Armitage, J. M., MacLeod, M., & Cousins, I. T. (2009) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es802900n · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Occurrence and Mass Flows of Fluorochemicals in the Glatt Valley Watershed, Switzerland
Huset, C. A., Chiaia, A. C., Barofsky, D. F., Jonkers, N., Kohler, H.-P. E., Ort, C., Giger, W., & Field, J. A. (2008) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es703062f · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Armitage, J. M., Schenker, U., Scheringer, M., Martin, J. W., MacLeod, M., & Cousins, I. T. (2009) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es901448p · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Ahmed, M. B., Johir, M. A. H., McLaughlan, R., Nguyen, L. N., Xu, B., & Nghiem, L. D. (2020) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141251 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Fate and transport of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the vadose zone
Sharifan, H., Bagheri, M., Wang, D., Burken, J. G., Higgins, C. P., Liang, Y., Liu, J., Schaefer, C. E., & Blotevogel, J. (2021) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145427 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Guillette, T. C., McCord, J., Guillette, M., Polera, M. E., Rachels, K. T., Morgeson, C., Kotlarz, N., Knappe, D. R. U., Reading, B. J., Strynar, M., et al. (2020) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105358 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances in seawater and plankton from the northwestern Atlantic Margin
Zhang, X., Lohmann, R., & Sunderland, E. M. (2019) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b03230 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Vertical Profiles, Sources, and Transport of PFASs in the Arctic Ocean
Yeung, L. W. Y., Dassuncao, C., Mabury, S., Sunderland, E. M., Zhang, X., & Lohmann, R. (2017) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b00788 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Self-citationOccurrence of Perfluoroalkyl Compounds in Surface Waters from the North Pacific to the Arctic Ocean
Cai, M., Zhao, Z., Yin, Z., Ahrens, L., Huang, P., Cai, M., Yang, H., He, J., Sturm, R., Ebinghaus, R., et al. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es2026278 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Distribution and fate of perfluoroalkyl substances in Mediterranean Spanish sewage treatment plants
Campo, J., Masiá, A., Picó, Y., Farré, M., & Barceló, D. (2014) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.11.056 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
PFAS on atmospheric aerosol particles: A review
Faust, J. A. (2023) · Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts · doi:10.1039/d2em00002d · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Global transport of perfluoroalkyl acids <i>via</i> sea spray aerosol
Johansson, J. H., Salter, M. E., Acosta Navarro, J. C., Leck, C., Nilsson, E. D., & Cousins, I. T. (2019) · Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts · doi:10.1039/c8em00525g · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Braune, B. M., & Letcher, R. J. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es303733d · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Decomposition kinetics of perfluorinated sulfonic acids
Khan, M. Y., So, S., & da Silva, G. (2020) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124615 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
MacInnis, J. J., Lehnherr, I., Muir, D. C. G., St. Pierre, K. A., St. Louis, V. L., Spencer, C., & De Silva, A. O. (2019) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b03372 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Self-citationXu, C., Song, X., Liu, Z., Ding, X., Chen, H., & Ding, D. (2021) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145731 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
A global atmospheric chemistry model for the fate and transport of PFCAs and their precursors
Thackray, C. P., Selin, N. E., & Young, C. J. (2020) · Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts · doi:10.1039/c9em00326f · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Self-citationYao, Y., Zhu, H., Li, B., Hu, H., Zhang, T., Yamazaki, E., Taniyasu, S., Yamashita, N., & Sun, H. (2014) · Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety · doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.07.021 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Temporal variations of perfluoroalkyl substances and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in alpine snow
Kirchgeorg, T., Dreyer, A., Gabrieli, J., Kehrwald, N., Sigl, M., Schwikowski, M., Boutron, C., Gambaro, A., Barbante, C., & Ebinghaus, R. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.03.043 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Enrichment Factors of Perfluoroalkyl Oxoanions at the Air/Water Interface
Psillakis, E., Cheng, J., Hoffmann, M. R., & Colussi, A. J. (2009) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry A · doi:10.1021/jp902795m · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Survey of polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in the atmosphere over the northeast Atlantic Ocean
Shoeib, M., Vlahos, P., Harner, T., Peters, A., Graustein, M., & Narayan, J. (2010) · Atmospheric Environment · doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.04.056 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Guo, R., Megson, D., Myers, A. L., Helm, P. A., Marvin, C., Crozier, P., Mabury, S., Bhavsar, S. P., Tomy, G., Simcik, M., et al. (2016) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.08.126 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Self-citationOECD (2018) · OECD Series on Risk Management of Chemicals · doi:10.1787/1a14ad6c-en · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Low temperature thermal treatment of gas-phase fluorotelomer alcohols by calcium oxide
Riedel, T. P., Wallace, M. A. G., Shields, E. P., Ryan, J. V., Lee, C. W., & Linak, W. P. (2021) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129859 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Legacy and emerging per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in polar regions
Xie, Z., & Kallenborn, R. (2023) · Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.cogsc.2023.100840 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Sim, W., Park, H., Yoon, J.-K., Kim, J.-I., & Oh, J.-E. (2021) · Chemosphere · doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130167 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Haimbaugh, A., Meyer, D. N., Connell, M. L., Blount-Pacheco, J., Tolofari, D., Gonzalez, G., Banerjee, D., Norton, J., Miller, C. J., & Baker, T. R. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21121615 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Industrial Applications, Environmental Fate, Human Exposure, and Health Effects of PFAS
Hasan, M., Habib, A., Alam, M., Islam, S., & Halim, E. (2025) · Pollutants · doi:10.3390/pollutants5040043 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“This photochemical degradation increases the levels of i-PFASs in the soil after deposition [151,152].”
McAdoo, M. A., Connock, G. T., & Messinger, T. (2022) · Scientific Investigations Report · doi:10.3133/sir20225067 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Weinbauer, H., Mann, O., & Hornek-Gausterer, R. (2025) · Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180346 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Young, C. J., Furdui, V. I., Franklin, J., Koerner, R. M., Muir, D. C. G., & Mabury, S. A.
- Affiliations
- Geological Survey of Canada (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Mabury, Scott A.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2007-03-28
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 3455-3461
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W1994072987
- Cited by
- 406
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 25.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Polar Research and Ecology
- Keywords
- perfluoroalkyl acids, Arctic snow, atmospheric oxidation, PFOS, perfluorocarboxylic acids, atmospheric fluxes, ice caps, seasonal variation, perfluorodecanoic acid, perfluoroundecanoic acid, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, atmospheric transport
- MeSH terms
- Arctic Regions, Atmosphere, Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated, Snow
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
