Abstract
Previous atmospheric and precipitation sampling on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic (76−83° N) has detected the presence of trace contaminants originating from both mid-latitudinal and trans-polar sources. Plant samples (Saxifraga oppositofolia) were collected along a latitudinal transect from seven remote sites on Ellesmere Island in order to determine the most likely influx pathway of organochlorine (OC) pollution to this region. Toxaphene, HCH, CBz, CHL, and DDT residues and selected PCB homolog groups decreased with northward distance indicating the predominance of North American sources. Further, all OC concentrations in saxifrage were found to be related to plant cesium-137 activities and therefore differences in the deposition of southerly-originating pollutants. The close association between these residues of micropollutants raises the possibility that the logistically much easier measurements of cesium-137 uptake could be used as a convenient environmental monitor of regional patterns in OC deposition in locations where pathways of atmospheric transport are similar.
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