Organized by Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), China and North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU), Russia, the UArctic Thematic Network on “Persistent organic pollutants and chemicals of emerging concern in the Asian Arctic” Workshop (PCAA-eWorkshop2020) was held online on 28th December 2020.
In total, over 100 scientists and students worldwide participated in the PCAA-eWorkshop2020, of which about 20 foreign scientists came from 8 countries (including 6 Arctic countries: Russia, Norway, Denmark, the USA, Canada and Finland), and over 80 scientists and students from domestic universities and institutes, including Polar Research Institute of China, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Xiamen University, Jilin University, Harbin Engineering University, and Ocean University of China.
PCAA-eWorkshop2020 is sponsored by the International Program Office of International HIT and co-organized by UArcitic-HIT-Training Center (UArctic-HIT-TC), Polar Academy/School of Environment HIT, Specialized Committee for Polar Environment and Ecosystem, Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Ecosystem, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and the Association of Sino-Russian Technical Universities (ASRTU).
The Open Ceremony started at 6:00 PM. Dr. LI Yifan, Director of the UArctic-HIT-TC and Professor of School of Environment, hosted the Ceremony. Prof. Anatoly N. Nikolaev, Rector of the North-Eastern Federal University, delivered a welcome speech, and announced the opening of PCAA-eWorkshop. Prof. FENG Yujie, Dean of School of Environment, HIT, delivered a welcome speech at the Ceremony. LI Yifan introduced briefly the TN-PCAA project and stated that, although the COVID-19 epidemic has affected the course of the TN Project, we have still achieved some progress. For example, the air and soil samples in both Russia and China have been collected. At the end of Ceremony, Professor Antonina Savvinova from NEFU gave a speech on “Arctic researches at the Institute of natural Sciences (NEFU): state and prospects of collaboration within the framework of UArctic thematic networks”.
After the Ceremony, the Session of Scientific Presentation started. There were 13 scientists gave presentations of research results of their recent studies on the Arctic and related research areas, which attracted a lot of attentions from participants. In Session of Discussion, many participants provided their opinions and suggestions on how to participate the PCAA, to make contributions to the PCAA, to improve this project, and to link the PCAA to the education program. Finally, a workable plan under COVID19 epidemic for 2021 was discussed and outlined.
Background:
https://www.uarctic.org/organization/thematic-networks/pops-and-chemicals-of-emerging-concern-in-the-asian-arctic/
The Thematic Network (TN) Project of “Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) in the Asian Arctic (PCAA)” was officially started in February 2020. This TN Project intends:
— to establish a special meridian sampling program including 6 monitoring sites, from Batagaika, Verkhoyansk Region in the Asian Arctic of Russia to the City of Shenzhen, South of China
— to understand the occurrence, trends, and sources of POPs and CECs in multiple environmental compartments in the Asian Arctic and the Arctic as a whole
— to study the impact of emissions of POPs and CECs on the health of the ecosystems and indigenous people in the Asian Arctic, and their response to climate change
— to investigate the differences in sources and fate of the contaminants in both outdoor and indoor environment between Russia in the north and China in the south, and human exposure assessment in the regions
The Thematic Network consists of research and education activities aimed at resolving sustainability questions in the Asian Arctic of Russia and near-Arctic region of China.
