| Summary: | The atmospheric input of numerous chemical species into the global ocean has been shown to equal or exceed that from river sources. In the Arctic, several contaminant elements in particular are dominated by atmospheric sources, with implications for the Arctic ecosystem and human health. In this project the naturally occurring isotope beryllium-7, which is produced in the atmosphere by cosmic rays and has a 53.3-day half-life, was used as a tracer for estimating the atmospheric fluxes of a variety of trace elements to the surface of the Arctic Ocean. Samples of snow, sea ice, surface waters (up to 40m deep), and atmospheric aerosols were collected from on board R/V Polarstern and ice stations during August and September 2011.
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