1994 Arctic Ocean Section
Persistent Organic Contaminants
Robie Macdonald and Fiona McLaughlin
AOS-94 provided a unique opportunity to collect contaminant samples
across a large, unsampled portion of the Arctic Ocean. One strength of this
contaminant study is that the transect crossed all major atmospheric and ice
transport routes, water bodies and three of the four main basins within the
Arctic Ocean. A second strength is that samples were collected in conjunction
with physical and biological data. In contrast, because of limited accessibility,
previous investigations have produced a patchwork of data, collected by differ-
ent groups using a variety of methods over time, generally focusing on smaller,
specific regions.
Rob MacDonald
Our strategy for sample collection was to examine each of the major envi-
collecting Arctic
ronmental compartments; ice, water, particles, plankton, fish and sediments.
cod for contami-
Beginning with the water column, we adopted several strategies. Vertical profile
nant studies.
samples were collected for the most water-soluble or-
ganochlorine contaminant, hexachlorocyclohexane
(HCH; one form, alpha, is the pesticide Lindane), at
selected stations from the Chukchi to the Greenland
Seas. These samples will provide the basis for pro-
ducing an HCH budget for the Arctic Ocean and
may allow us to separate the contributions by source
or pathway (southeast Asia versus northern Europe).
Other less-soluble organochlorine contaminants, such
as PCBs, require collection of larger quantities of water
in order to make reliable measurements. To collect
samples for these analyses, we moored submersible
pumps equipped with columns and filters to obtain
the 400 L or more of water required to exceed detec-
tion limits. Vertical profile samples for these less-sol-
uble contaminants were collected at two stations; these
data will augment the limited profile data collected
at the Hobson's Choice Ice Island in 1986 and in
the Beaufort Sea in 1992.
Robie Macdonald and Fiona McLaughlin are with the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, British Columbia,
Canada.
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