Thai scientists have found sediment in Antarctica contaminated with fossil-fuel combustion, which has put state agencies on alert to find measures that would limit such activity in the world’s cleanest environment.
Samples were collected from five locations on the continent’s King George Island by a research team and brought to the Thai Synchrotron National Lab in Nakhon Ratchasima to find out whether there was any chemical contamination in the soil there.
An SR-FTIR microspectroscopy technique was used to analyse the sediment.
Siwatt Pongpiachan, director of the Nida Centre for Research and Development of Disaster Prevention & Management and a member of the research team, said the technique can identify any differences between organic and non-organic substances as well as chemical bonding in the sediment.
It can produce a perfect analytical result, he said, adding the technique also helps keep the samples in good condition so they can be used in other analyses.
Thai researchers join the 32nd CHINARE exploration at the South Pole in 2016 to analyse climate change impacts on the ice landscape
The results show that up to 44% of the composition of the sampling soil is made of organic compounds from fossil fuels, which were used for generating electricity, with traces of machinery smog, Mr Siwatt said.
Only 25% of the soil composition was the organic compounds from penguins’ waste and decomposed plants such as lichen, ferns and moss. Higher contaminations were found in samples taken from sites where people live, such as research centres and the airport, he said.
“I do hope the findings would back the need to have proper measures to control fossil-fuel combustion activity because we want to keep the island clean and free from any polluted contamination,” he said.
Mr Siwatt’s team is one of those exploring Antarctica under the 34th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expeditions (CHINARE).
In 2016, he attended the 32nd CHINARE exploration at the South Pole to analyse climate change impacts on the ice landscape under a project initiated by Princess Sirindhorn, who has a close relationship with the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAA). Thai scientists and researchers have joined the operation every year.
Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, with an area of 14 million square kilometres.
The global community has agreed to help preserve its pristine environment by not approving any human activity there except for research purposes.