Removal and bioaccumulation of anthropogenic, halogenated transient tracers in an anoxic fjord

The persistence of the anthropogenic halogenated tracers, CFC-11 (CCl3F), CFC-12 (CCl2F2), CFC-113 (CCl2FCClF2), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3) in oxygen-depleted waters was investigated in the anoxic fjord Framvaren in southern Norway. A model for the ventilation of the water in the fjord was created based on tritium and CFC-12 profiles. The results suggest that CFC-12 is stable in this environment, although still affected by particulate scavenging, while the other four halocarbon species shows signs of significant removal in the oxic/anoxic interface. The first-order removal coefficients were calculated to be 0.35, 0.19, 1.23 and 0.31 year−1 for CFC-11, CFC-113, CCl4 and CH3CCl3, respectively. Significant downward flux of halogenated tracers by sinking organic matter is suggested by the model; the tracers are subsequently released to the water column by the remineralisation of the particles. This process acts as a sink of halogenated tracers in the surface waters, whereas it is a source for the deep waters. Our results points to bioaccumulation factors (BF) for the CFC tracers in the order of 4.4–5.4 (log BF), which is 100–600 times those previously reported. This might be of significance to near-shore, semi-enclosed, basins with a high flux of organic matter, but would still have little importance in open ocean basins.