Community based seawater monitoring for organic contaminants and mercury in the Canadian Arctic
The concentrations of contaminants in seawater influence what is detected in marine mammals and seabirds and levels and time trends of the contaminants in the ocean has been identified as a knowledge gap by the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP). Samples were analyzed for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including brominated flame retardants (BFRs), perfluorinated substances and mercury. Repeated sampling at the same location and time of year will help develop temporal trend information for contaminants seawater.
Supplemental Information
The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP, https://www.science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_7A463DBA.html) was established in 1991 in response to concerns about human exposure to elevated levels of contaminants in wildlife species that are important to the traditional diets of northern Aboriginal peoples. Early studies found a wide variety of substances, many of which had no Arctic or Canadian sources, but which were, nevertheless, reaching unexpectedly high levels in the Arctic ecosystem.
The Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN, https://www.ccin.ca/) and the Polar Data Catalogue (PDC, https://polardata.ca/) have been developed over the past two decades through collaborative partnerships between the University of Waterloo and numerous government, university, and private organizations to provide the data and information management infrastructure for the Canadian cryospheric community. The PDC is one of Canada’s primary online sources for data and information about the Arctic and is Canada's National Antarctica Data Centre.
Polar Data Catalogue Canadian Cryospheric Information Network Metadata Record:
https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/PDCSearchDOI.jsp?doi_id=12073
Supporting Projects:
Northern Contaminants Program (NCP)
- Publisher - Current Organization Name: Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Licence: Open Government Licence - Canada
Data and Resources
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Synopsis of Research Conducted under the 2015–2016 Northern Contaminants ProgramHTMLEnglish French guide HTML
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Synopsis of Research Conducted under the 2014–2015 Northern Contaminants ProgramHTMLEnglish French guide HTML
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View ECCC Data Mart (English)HTMLEnglish web_service HTML
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View ECCC Data Mart (French)HTMLFrench web_service HTML