One of the key challenges in the field of nanoparticle (NP) analysis is in producing reliable and reproducible characterisation data for nanomaterials. This study looks at the reproducibility using a relatively new, but rapidly adopted, technique, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) on a range of particle sizes and materials in several different media. It describes the protocol development and presents both the data and analysis of results obtained from 12 laboratories, mostly based in Europe, who are primarily QualityNano members. QualityNano is an EU FP7 funded Research Infrastructure that integrates 28 European analytical and experimental facilities in nanotechnology, medicine and natural sciences with the goal of developing and implementing best practice and quality in all aspects of nanosafety assessment. This study looks at both the development of the protocol and how this leads to highly reproducible results amongst participants. In this study, the parameter being measured is the modal particle size.

Continuous and comparable atmospheric monitoring programs to study the transport and occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmosphere of remote regions is essential to better understand the global movement of these chemicals and to evaluate the effectiveness of international control measures. Key results from four main Arctic research stations, Alert (Canada), Pallas (Finland), Storhofdi (Iceland) and Zeppelin (Svalbard/Norway), where long-term monitoring have been carried out since the early 1990s, are summarized. We have also included a discussion of main results from various Arctic satellite stations in Canada, Russia, US (Alaska) and Greenland which have been operational for shorter time periods. Using the Digital Filtration temporal trend development technique, it was found that while some POPs showed more or less consistent declines during the 1990s, this reduction is less apparent in recent years at some sites. In contrast, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were still found to be increasing by 2005 at Alert with doubling times of 3.5years in the case of deca-BDE. Levels and patterns of most POPs in Arctic air are also showing spatial variability, which is typically explained by differences in proximity to suspected key source regions and long-range atmospheric transport potentials. Furthermore, increase in worldwide usage of certain pesticides, e.g. chlorothalonil and quintozene, which are contaminated with hexachlorobenzene (HCB), may result in an increase in Arctic air concentration of HCB. The results combined also indicate that both temporal and spatial patterns of POPs in Arctic air may be affected by various processes driven by climate change, such as reduced ice cover, increasing seawater temperatures and an increase in biomass burning in boreal regions as exemplified by the data from the Zeppelin and Alert stations. Further research and continued air monitoring are needed to better understand these processes and its future impact on the Arctic environment.

This paper presents an overview of air pollution transport into the Arctic. The major transport processes will be highlighted, as well as their seasonal, interannual, and spatial variability. The source regions of Arctic air pollution will be discussed, with a focus on black carbon (BC) sources, as BC can produce significant radiative forcing in the Arctic. It is found that Europe is the main source region for BC in winter, whereas boreal forest fires are the strongest source in summer, especially in years of strong burning. Two case studies of recent extreme Arctic air pollution events will be presented. In summer 2004, boreal forest fires in Alaska and Canada caused pan-Arctic enhancements of black carbon. The BC concentrations measured at Barrow (Alaska), Alert (Canada), Summit (Greenland) and Zeppelin (Spitsbergen) were all episodically elevated, as a result of the long-range transport of the biomass burning emissions. Aerosol optical depth was also episodically elevated at these stations, with an almost continuous elevation over more than a month at Summit. During the second episode in spring 2006, new records were set for all measured air pollutant species at the Zeppelin station (Spitsbergen) as well as for ozone in Iceland. At Zeppelin, BC, AOD, aerosol mass, ozone, carbon monoxide and other compounds all reached new record levels, compared to the long-term monitoring record. The episode was caused by transport of polluted air masses from Eastern Europe deep into the Arctic, a consequence of the unusual warmth in the European Arctic during the episode. While fossil fuel combustion sources certainly contributed to this episode, smoke from agricultural fires in Eastern Europe was the dominant pollution component. We also suggest a new revolatilization mechanism for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) stored in soils and vegetation by fires, as POPs were strongly elevated during both episodes. All this suggests a considerable influence of biomass burning on the pollutant concentrations in the Arctic in spring and summer, even for species that are produced exclusively by humans, such as POPs.