## 3 Diesel Pollution: History and Causes  
Hydrocarbon pollution in Antarctica is mostly concentrated at ice-free coastal areas where nations build their research stations. According to the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), there are currently 76 permanent and seasonal research stations scattered across the continent. Sewage and 'grey water' composed of domestic waste are generated from these research stations, which release anthropogenic hydrocarbon into the Antarctic system [8]. According to ANNEX III Environmental Protocol [9], sewage must not be directly discharged into the sea, but may only be discharged into marine environments that are favourable for initial dilution and rapid dispersal. Hydrocarbon contamination in proximity to the shore is generally caused by local fuel usage and storage for sites like research stations, tourism sites, as well as historic whaling and sealing sites [10].  
Fuel spills, as the most common incidents, are recognised by the COMNAP as one of the greatest threats in and around the continent. Such spills occur mainly around research sites where fuel is transported in large quantities as well as aircraft and vehicles are refueled. The most catastrophic spillage incident in the Antarctica history is the grounding of the Bahia Paraiso in Arthur Harbour in 1989, with an estimation of 600,000 L of diesel fuel arctic (DFA) leaked into the ocean within 2-mile radius of Palmer Station [11]. The incident adversely affected the marine life directly and indirectly (Table 1). A vessel ran aground in an incident at Mawson station in 2016 but it was fortunate that no fuel spill was reported [12]. To date, the scale and impacts of oil spills at sea have downsized since the agreement to Antarctic Treaty; however, large-scale coastal clean-up infrastructure does not generally exist in Antarctica.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Date** & **Vessel/Station** & **Location** & **Incident and Environmental Impact** & **Reference** \\ \hline \hline December 1983 & _Davis station_ & East Antarctica & 30,000 L light marine diesel spillage during station refueling. & [13] \\ \hline
3 December 1987 & _Nella Dan_ & Macquarie Island & Vessel ran aground releasing 270,000 L light marine diesel. Impacts to marine algae and invertebrates. & [14] \\ \hline
28 January 1989 & _Bahia Paraiso_ & Palmer Station, Antarctic Peninsula & Vessel sank approximately 2 km offshore releasing 600,000 L diesel potentially chronic impacted on flora and fauna. & [15] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Events in Antarctic and sub Antarctic with reported oil spillage into the marine environment.  
Oil spill incidents in Antarctica to date are mostly related to diesel. A recent report by [PERSON] et al. [19] identified diesel as the petrogenic source for the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in freshwater samples collected at Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. The growing attention in the research of diesel pollution in Antarctica is reflected by the overall publication growth since 1980. Figure 1 depicts the annual scientific publications regarding the discussed topics over the last 40 years, which were grouped according to the consecutive period in decade to avoid flatness in graph. The result showed an increasing trend with an annual growth rate of 5.84%. A spike in publication number was observed in the period of 2000-2009; in fact, the research on diesel pollution in Antarctica has still been expanding until recent years.