Summary: | The International Symposium on the Ecological Effects of Arctic Airborne Contaminants was structured to bring together researchers from throughout the world, particularly from the eight arctic countries, to share their ideas on the known and potential ecological effects of airborne contaminants in the Arctic. hese scientific papers were presented at the Symposium, which was convened in October 1993 in Reykjav EDk, Iceland. he steering committee planned the Symposium with two key features in mind: (1) it was designed to be interdisciplinary, forcing scientists from varied academic backgrounds to participate in sessions focused on germane but unfamiliar disciplines and (2) a serious effort was made to involve practicing arctic scientists from the former Soviet Union, whose arctic holdings represents over 65k of the arctic landmass. rctic airborne contaminants, represented by a broad suite of substances, are known to be transported great distances from their sites of origin, often crossing national and ecological boundaries, where they are deposited and potentially incorporated into ecological systems. n many ways, the Arctic environment presents an ideal situation in which to study global change. his is true particularly with respect to airborne contaminants. any regions of the Arctic are thousands of kilometers from significant emission sources, yet it is clear that ecosystems in many of these distant locations are exposed to airborne contaminants. he elatively simple food web structure and low biodiversity (especially with regard to inland systems) combine to offer an excellent investigative environment.
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