By: Phil Fellin
The Arctic is a vast area comprising about 9% of the earth’s surface. The northern ecosystem is characterized by relatively low biological productivity, organisms that are long-lived and develop slowly, low species diversity but large populations and distinctive sub-ice biological communities. Arctic marine ecosystems typically have short food chains. The entire region was considered a pristine, sensitive environment, potentially easily damaged and, because of conditions, with limited capacity for regeneration. Observations of pollution in the Arctic at significant levels, without major sources in the region, is a major concern. The pollutants (organochlorine and polyaromatic hydrocarbon compounds, metallic elements and radionuclides) are mainly generated by anthropogenic sources at mid-latitudes, transported into the Arctic primarily via the atmosphere, but also by ocean currents and rivers. The Arctic haze phenomenon, reported in the early 1950s that occurs during winter each year, is a manifestation of this long range transport process.
Organochlorines have been found in Arctic air, surface seawater, suspended sediments, fish, marine mammals, seabirds, terrestrial animals and humans, prompting research into the mechanisms of transport and exchange processes within the Arctic environmental media.
The Arctic Environmental Strategies (AES) program was initiated by the 8 circumpolar countries to assess and maintain the Arctic environment. The primary vehicle for achieving this objective is the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) with a secretariat in Oslo, Norway. AMAP sponsors many investigations into the state of the Arctic environment and periodically provides a status review.
We have been involved since AMAPs inception in the early 1990’s, when we were asked to develop a sampler to determine airborne toxic compounds under severe Arctic conditions. This was designed, tested and delivered under contract to Environment Canada (EC). Subsequently, EC awarded a contract to us to deploy a sampler at Alert, maintain the monitoring site, extract samples and analyze the data. This was extended to two subsequent stations in Canada (Tagish in the Yukon and Cape Dorset on Baffin Island). Later, we assisted the Roscomhydromet (in Russia) with their AMAP commitments, leading establishment of a site for a two year period on Dunai Island at the mouth of the Lena River in Eastern Siberia. With support from Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) we established a second site in the European Arctic at Amderma (Russia). In the same contract, we administered a sub-contract for AXYS Laboratories (Sydney BC) to establish a laboratory facility in Russia capable of trace analysis in environmental media.
More recently, in cooperation with NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) and PNL (Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories), we established sites north of Pewek in the Far eastern Siberian Arctic and in Point Barrow Alaska. In addition, a new site was opened in the Yukon at Fox Lake and the Amderma site has been expanded to include high time resolution mercury measurements.
The work in the Arctic region has been published in peer-reviewed journals and used in two CACAR and AMAP reports to assess the state of the Arctic environment.
The laboratory is accredited by CALA to ISO/IEC 17025 for specific tests on the scope of accreditation.