Our perception of the Arctic region is that its distance from industrial centers keeps it pristine and clear from the impact of pollution. However, the Arctic is the recipient of contaminants whose sources are thousands of miles away through a process known as transboundary pollution. Large quantities of pollutants pour into our atmosphere, as well as our lakes, rivers, and oceans on a daily basis. In the last two decades, scientists have detected an increasing variety of toxic contaminants in the North, including pesticides from agriculture, chemicals and heavy metals from industry, and even radioactive fall-out from Chernobyl. These are substances that have invaded ecosystems virtually worldwide, but they are especially worrisome in the Arctic.
Initially, Chemical spills were primarily attributed for Arctic contamination which were also believed to be “small and confined”. Pollutants from all across the world are now considered to be transferred north by rivers, ocean currents, and atmospheric circulation. Moreover, Contaminants break down significantly more slowly in the Arctic than in warmer climates due to harsh conditions such as reduced sunlight, extensive ice cover, and frigid temperatures. Due to their lengthened lifespan in the Arctic, contaminants can also become significantly concentrated.

Problems of spring run-off into coastal waters during the growth period of marine life are of critical concern. Spring algae blooms easily, absorbing the concentrated contaminants released by spring melting. These algae are in turn eaten by zooplankton and a wide variety of marine life. The accumulation of these contaminants increases with each step of the food chain or web and can potentially affect northerners who eat marine mammals near the top of the food chain. Pollutants respect no borders; transboundary pollution is the movement of contaminants across political borders, whether by air, rivers, or ocean currents. The eight circumpolar nations, led by the Finnish Initiative of 1989, established the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) in which participants have agreed to develop an Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP).  AMAP establishes an international scientific network to monitor the current condition of the Arctic with respect to specific contaminants. This monitoring program is extremely important because it will give a scientific basis for understanding the scope of the problem.

In the 1950s, during the springtime bands of haze were reported by pilots traveling on weather reconnaissance flights in the Canadian high Arctic. During this period, the term “Arctic haze” was first used, referring to this mist of uncertain origin. Dr. Glenn Shaw of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska was the first to put forth theories on the nature and long-distance origin of Arctic haze in 1972. The notion that the source was distant was difficult for many to support. Each winter, air that is frigid and dense descends over the Arctic. Mid-latitude emissions from fossil fuel combustion, smelting, and other industrial operations seem to be accumulating in the Arctic in the darkness, causing an increase in pollution. By late winter, the Arctic has been blanketed in a layer of this haze the size of Africa. When spring light arrives in the Arctic, there is a haze that resembles smog, which gives the region an appearance of pollution over places like Los Angeles. This polluted air is a well-known and well-distinctive feature of the late winter Arctic environment. In the Arctic of North America, instances of brown or black snow have been linked to continental storm tracks that transport gaseous and particulate-associated contaminations from Asian deserts and agricultural regions. The contaminants are now thought to have originated primarily in Europe and Asia.

Arctic haze has been studied most extensively in Point Barrow, Alaska, across the Canadian Arctic and in Svalbard (Norway). Evidence from ice cores drilled from the ice sheet of Greenland indicates that these haze particles were not always present in the Arctic, but began to appear only in the last century. The Arctic haze particles appear to be similar to smog particles observed in industrial areas farther south, consisting mostly of sulfates mixed with particles of carbon. It is believed the particles are formed when gaseous sulfur dioxide produced by burning sulfur-bearing coal is irradiated by sunlight and oxidized to sulfate, a process catalyzed by trace elements in the air. These sulfate particles or droplets of sulfuric acid quickly capture the carbon particles, which are also floating in the air. Pure sulfate particles or droplets are colorless, so it is believed the darkness of the haze is caused by the mixed-in carbon particles

The impact of the haze on Arctic ecosystems and the global environment, has not been adequately researched. The pollutants have only been studied in their aerosol form over the Arctic. However, a brief is known about what eventually happens to them. It is known that they are removed somehow. There is a good degree of likelihood that the contaminants end up in the ocean, likely into the North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea and possibly the Bering Sea — all three very important fisheries.
Currently, the major issue among researchers is to understand the impact of Arctic haze on global climate change. The contaminants absorb sunlight and, in turn, heat up the atmosphere. The global impact of this is currently unknown but the implications are quite powerful.