1 International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
2 International Joint Research Center for Arctic Environment and Ecosystem (IJRC-AEE), Polar Academy, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
3 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada.
4 School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno NV 89557, USA.
5 Institute of Coastal Environmental Chemistry, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht 21502, Germany.
6 Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
7 IJRC-PTS-NA, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6X9, Canada.
8 Key Laboratory of Polar Science, Ministry of Natural Resources, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China.
9 School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
10 Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås 1430, Norway.
11 University of the Arctic, Rovaniemi, Finland.
12 Department of Geography, Planning & Environment, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada.
13 Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 867 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario L7S1A1, Canada.

Global monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has intensified following regulatory efforts aimed at reducing their release. In this context, we compiled over 10,000 POP measurements, reported from 1980 to 2023, to assess the effectiveness of these legislative measures in the global marine environments. While a general decreasing trend in legacy POP concentrations is evident across various maritime regions, highlighting the success of source control measures, the Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas have experienced a rise in POP levels. This increase suggests the northward migration of pollutants via ocean currents from mid-latitude regions to polar areas. Despite global efforts to reduce emissions, the continued transport and accumulation of pollutants to the Arctic regions may have substantial ecological impacts. Addressing these environmental challenges demands a thorough understanding of POP dynamics, including response times, multiphase transport, and biogeochemical cycling. Continued research into these processes is vital to accurately map their distribution and temporal variations within marine systems.