Distribution of Selected Organic Pollutants and Estimation of the Degradation Rate of Chiral Compounds in the Arctic Ocean and N Atlantic

A large number of water and air samples from various parts of the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic have been made available. The samples were collected during expeditions 2002 and 2005. Various types of environmental contaminants should be determined in th e samples. These include traditional persistent organic pollutants, currently used pesticides, and polyfluorinated compounds. The data obtained will be used to get an updated picture of the contamination situation in the Arctic and also give additional kn owledge on the transport processes and fate of the contaminants.Air and water samples were collected simultaneously to obtain information on deposition/volatilisation processes. Air samples were collected with high volume air samplers with filters for th e particles and two different types of sorbents for compounds in the gas phase. Water samples of different sizes were collected separating the suspended particles and dissolved phase. Small water samples (4-10 L) will be used mainly to get a finemeshed d ata net for hexachlorocyclohexanes. Larger water samples (80-150 L) will be used for other organochlorines and currently used pesticides. In addition samples of ice, meltvater and brine have been collected. Chiral compounds will be used to map biodegradat ion and give further information on the air-sea gas exchange. The knowledge that comes out of the project is important to further develop models of how environmental contaminants are transported as well as their fate in the Arctic environment. This type of knowledge is important for decision makers to develop legislation to protect the environment against deliterious chemicals.