Persistent organic pollutants in biota samples collected during the Ymer-80 expedition to the Arctic

During the expedition with the Swedish ice-breaker HMS Ymer to the Arctic in 1980 samples of a number of vertebrate species were collected for determination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Specimens of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), common eider (Somate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Research
Main Authors: Kylin, Henrik, Hammar, Johan, Mowrer, Jacques, Bouwman, Henk, Edelstam, Carl, Olsson, Mats, Jensen, Sören
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2015
Subjects:
Polar bear
ringed seal
glaucous gull
Brünnich’s guillemot
common eider
Arctic char
Arctic
Breaker
Svalbard
brünnich's guillemot
Common Eider
Glaucous Gull
Larus hyperboreus
Phoca hispida
Polar Research
Pusa hispida
Salvelinus alpinus
Somateria mollissima
Uria lomvia
Ursus maritimus
uria
Online Access:https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/3218
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v34.21129
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Summary:During the expedition with the Swedish ice-breaker HMS Ymer to the Arctic in 1980 samples of a number of vertebrate species were collected for determination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Specimens of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), common eider (Somateria mollissima), Brünnich's guillemot (Uria lomvia), ringed seal (Phoca hispida), and polar bear (Ursus maritimuDuring the 1980 expedition to the Arctic with the icebreaker Ymer, a number of vertebrate species were sampled for determination of persistent organic pollutants. Samples of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus, n=34), glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus, n=8), common eider (Somateria mollissima, n=10), Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia, n=9), ringed seal (Pusa hispida, n=2) and polar bear (Ursus maritimus, n=2) were collected. With the exception of Brünnich’s guillemot, there was a marked contamination difference of birds from western as compared to eastern/northern Svalbard. Samples in the west contained a larger number of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and also polychlorinated terphenyls, indicating local sources. Brünnich’s guillemots had similar pollutant concentrations in the west and east/north; possibly younger birds were sampled in the west. In Arctic char, pollutant profiles from lake Linnévatn (n=5), the lake closest to the main economic activities in Svalbard, were similar to profiles in Arctic char from the Shetland Islands (n=5), but differed from lakes to the north and east in Svalbard (n=30). Arctic char samples had higher concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) than the marine species of birds and mammals, possibly due to accumulation via snowmelt. Compared to the Baltic Sea, comparable species collected in Svalbard had lower concentrations of PCB and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), but similar concentrations indicating long-range transport of hexachlorobenzene, HCHs and cyclodiene pesticides. In samples collected in Svalbard in 1971, the concentrations of PCB and DDT in ...

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