This dataset contains 2005 concentrations of total mercury (THg), gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), methylated mercury, dimethyl mercury (DMHg) in the water column of the Canadian Arctic. Mercury in the Arctic is an important environmental and human health issue. The reliance of Northern peoples on traditional foods, such as marine mammals, for subsistence means that they are particularly at risk from mercury exposure. Mercury concentrations on biological organisms have increased since the onset of the industrial age and are controlled by a combination of abiotic factors, food web dynamics and structure, as well as animal behavior. The Arctic Ocean including its coastal seas has many features differentiating it from the rest of the worlds marine ecosystem that can affect the fate of mercury (Hg) an how issues surrounding mercury contamination are viewed. Due to its remote location all anthropogenic mercury inputs to the Arctic Ocean originate from long range transport rather than point source emissions, making source attribution more challenging. Atmospheric process are unique to polar region and play an important role in controlling the deposition of atmospheric mercury.

This dataset contains the fish health metrics (length, weight, gonad size, etc.) for Brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) collected from three site locations (Randle Reef, Carol's Point and Jordan Harbour) within the Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern.

These datasets contains depth profile of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) concentrations collected from snow on the Devon Ice Cap from 2005-2015. Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are present in remote regions where no local sources exist. To improve understanding of long-range transport of perfluoroalkyl substances to the High Arctic, samples were collected from a snow pit on the Devon Ice Cap in spring 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2015. Snow was analyzed for perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), including perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs), as well as perfluorooctane sulfonamide (FOSA). Observations of PFAAs from these samples provide further evidence that atmospheric oxidation of volatile precursors is an important source of PFAAs to the Arctic environment.

The concentrations of contaminants in seawater influence what is detected in marine mammals and seabirds and levels and time trends of the contaminants in the ocean has been identified as a knowledge gap by the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP). Samples were analyzed for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including brominated flame retardants (BFRs), perfluorinated substances and mercury. Repeated sampling at the same location and time of year will help develop temporal trend information for contaminants seawater.

This dataset contains concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in seawater sampled in various locations in the Arctic ranging from 2005-2008. Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are ubiquitous contaminants of marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments, including remote arctic wildlife. Slow, and long-range oceanic transport from source regions in the northern hemisphere is hypothesized to be among the major pathways contributing to PFAA contamination in remote marine environments. The Arctic Ocean is influenced by Pacific and Atlantic seawater as well as riverine outflows. Surface waters of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and the western parts of the Canadian archipelago originate from Pacific waters and from major freshwater outflows from Russian, Alaskan, and western Canadian Arctic rivers. Waters of Baffin Bay and the northern Labrador Sea are influenced by Atlantic waters and the east Greenland current. Major inflowing rivers in Europe and North America deliver tons of PFAAs per year into the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas.