Why Are the Polar Regions Sensitive to Pollutants?

For centuries it was thought that the Arctic and Antarctic regions were too remote and isolated from large cities and industrial centers to be affected by man-made pollution. It has been discovered that this is far from the truth. Indeed, pollutants and toxins from thousands of miles away are being found in shocking quantities in these formerly pristine regions.

How Pollutants Get to the Polar Regions

• Danger of Nuclear Pollution

  Pollutants are carried from all over the world by ocean currents, rivers and atmospheric circulation. Air moves quickly and can transport an air-borne pollutant around the globe in a matter of hours. Atmospheric circulation very effectively transported the radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Ukraine to northern Scandinavia as evidenced by tests that show that it infected the plant life and the meat of reindeer in that area. Ocean currents allow water-borne contaminates from anywhere in the world to reach the polar regions.

Why It Matters

• This is cause for alarm because of conditions that make the polar regions especially vulnerable to the effects of any pollutants. The Arctic ecosystems are more delicate, and even small amounts of pollutants can bring about biological damage. Furthermore, the extreme cold, extensive ice cover and reduced sunlight cause a much slower breakdown of contaminants than would happen in warmer climates. The contaminants become highly concentrated because of a longer lifespan.

What Are the Effects of Pollutants on the Polar Regions?

• The effects of the ever-growing level of contamination are far-reaching and include melting of the ice shelf; warming of the ocean waters, which leads to a higher concentration of carbon dioxide; depletion of ozone; overgrowth of algae, which depletes oxygen in the water; rising levels of toxins in the algae itself (a major source of food for plankton and other marine life which, in turn, becomes food for larger marine animals all the way up to seals and whales and the contamination increases with each step up the food chain); smog known as Arctic Haze; heavy metals and radioactivity.

Some Visible and Measurable Effects

• Pollutants and measurable warming are having a negative effect on the human and animal populations as well as the plant life in these areas. Because the earth is a balanced ecosystem, major changes will naturally ripple into the rest of the world. For example, rising temperatures are leading to faster breeding cycles in the spruce bark beetle in Alaska. In the decade between 1993 and 2003, the beetles ate 3.4 million acres of Alaskan forest. The warming is causing melting glaciers and ice sheets, threatening coastal areas all around the globe, especially cities that are only a few feet above the existing sea levels.

The Importance of Change

• Because of the far-reaching and long-lasting effects of pollutants on the delicate polar regions, it is important that swift and concentrated actions and efforts be taken on a global basis. It is in the best interest of every person on this planet to become educated about the steps needed to restore balance to our ecosystem. Education coupled with planning and action can make a difference in stopping and reversing the damage to the most vulnerable regions.