Environmental Monitoring and Research (2019-2020)

Table of Contents

Northern Contaminants Air Monitoring: Organic Pollutant Measurements

Project Leader

Hayley Hung, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

National Laboratory for Environmental Testing (NLET) Analytical Team, P. Falletta, E. Barresi, and H. Steer, NLET; L. Jantunen, D. Muir, C. Teixeira, Alexandra Steffen, Nick Alexandrou, Helena Dryfhout-Clark, Organics Analysis Laboratory Analytical Team and Alert GAW Laboratory Staff, ECCC; P. Fellin, AirZOne; H. Li, C. Geen, AZ; Ta’än Kwach’än Council; Jamie Thomas, previous IK student; Laberge Environmental Services; Chelsea Rochman, University of Toronto; Nathalie Tufenkji and Laura Hernandez, McGill University

Funds

$138,819

Project Summary (2019-2020)

The atmosphere is the most rapid pathway for organic pollutants to enter Arctic ecosystems. This air monitoring project was started in 1992 to measure these pollutants in Arctic air. Measuring how much of which organic pollutants are present in Arctic air over time will provide us with information on whether their air concentrations are decreasing, increasing or not changing over time; where these chemicals have come from; how much from which region; and which climate conditions influence their movement to the Arctic. Governments can then create policies to limit their emissions and hopefully reduce what comes into the Arctic. Results from this continuing project are used to negotiate and evaluate the effectiveness of international control agreements, to assess risks of new pollutants, and to test atmospheric models that explain pollutant movement from sources in the South to the Arctic.

In 2019-20, weekly sampling will continue at Alert, Nunavut, but only one out of four weekly samples will be analyzed for routine trend analysis of organic pollutants and emerging chemicals in the air. The remaining samples will be extracted and archived in case they may be helpful for future investigations or to measure the presence of emerging priority chemicals. This year we will also continue to screen for emerging chemicals, including current-use pesticides (CUPs), new flame retardants (FRs), stain-repellent-related perfluorinated compounds, and organophosphate flame retardants (OPs). A passive flow through air sampler specifically designed for use in cold environments has been used at Little Fox Lake, Yukon, since August 2011, to investigate whether contaminants from trans-Pacific and Asian locations are important contaminant sources to the western Canadian Arctic.

 

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Air Measurements of Mercury at Alert, Nunavut and Little Fox Lake, Yukon

Project Leader

Alexandra Steffen, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Hayley Hung, Geoff Stupple, Alert GAW Laboratory Staff, Greg Lawson and Jane Kirk, ECCC; Laberge Environmental Services; Greg Skelton, Skelton Technical Services; Coralee Johns, Ta’än Kwach’än Council; Carl Mitchell, University of Toronto Scarborough, Christine Michel, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Lars-Eric, Heimburger, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography

Funds

$108,300

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This project looks at the levels of mercury in the Arctic air from Alert, Nunavut and Little Fox Lake, Yukon. The primary goals of this project are to look at changes of mercury levels in the air over time and understand how they behave. Mercury is in the air as a gas or attached to dust (particles). As a gas, it stays in the air a long time but on particles it can more easily fall onto the surface and end up in the ecosystem. This study provides data on how much mercury is in the air, how it is brought into the Arctic by air and how much falls from the air onto the ground. The data collected is used in mathematical models to predict future scenarios of mercury levels in the Arctic air. This information supports national and international policies to control the release of mercury worldwide. This research also contributes to understanding how climate change may influence mercury contamination in the Arctic. Finally, this research provides a part of the overall puzzle to try to understand how mercury affects those living in the North.

 

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Passive Air Sampling Network for Organic Pollutants and Mercury

Project Leaders

Hayley Hung and Alexandra Steffen, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Liisa Jantunen, Helena Dryfhout-Clark, Tom Harner, Geoff Stupple, and the Organics Analysis Lab, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Coralee Johns, Ta’än Kwach’än Council; Jamie Thomas, previous IK student; David McLagan, Carl Mitchell, and Frank Wania, University of Toronto; Michael Barrett, Véronique Gilbert, and Monica Nashak, Kativik Regional Government Administration; Donald S. McLennan, Angulalik Pedersen, Dwayne Beattie and Johann Wagner, Polar Knowledge Canada; David Oberg, Government of Nunavut; Joel McAllister, Bessie Rogers, Annika Trimble, Edwin Amos, and Greg Elias, Aurora College; Diane Giroux and Annie Boucher, Akaitcho Territory Government; Rosy Bjornson, Kathleen Fordy and Patrick Simon, Deninu Kue First Nation; Arthur Beck and Shawn Mckay, Fort Resolution Métis Council; Tausia Lal, Hamlet of Fort Resolution; Rodd Laing and Liz Pijogge, Nunatsiavut Government; Tim Heron, Northwest Territory Métis Nation

Funds

$32,153

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This project will measure pollutants, namely persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury, in the air at seven locations across Canada’s North. When POPs and mercury enter the ecosystem, they may affect the health of Northerners. Pollutants are carried through the air from other places in the world to the Arctic. This project’s network of locations will help provide a more comprehensive picture of where contaminants come from, in what levels they are found across the Arctic and how they are changing over time.

Our air measurements are collected using passive samplers. Passive sampling refers to collecting contaminants from the air on a trap that sits out in the open without any pumps pulling in the air. While passive sampling takes much longer than traditional sampling, the passive samplers are a low-cost, low-maintenance way to monitor air pollutants and are ideally suited to the Arctic environment. This method is straightforward and can easily involve students or other interested persons in the sample collection, enhancing communication between the project team and local communities as well as creating training opportunities for Northern students.

 

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Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Metals in Ringed Seals from the Canadian Arctic

Project Leaders

Magali Houde and Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC);
Steve Ferguson, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

Team Members

Resolute Bay Hunters and Trappers Association; Sachs Harbour Hunters and Trappers Committee; Arviat Hunters and Trappers Organization; Rodd Laing and Liz Pijogge, Nunatsiavut Government; Xiaowa Wang, Laurie Mercier, Helena Steer, Serge Moore, Mary Williamson, Amy Sett and Jane Kirk, ECCC; ; Brent Young, DFO

Funds

$55,700

Project Summary (2019-2020)

The three questions that this project is addressing are: (1) how are concentrations of legacy contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as well as mercury, changing over time in ringed seals, (2) are trends similar across the Canadian Arctic, and (3) what are the spatial and temporal trends of new contaminants?

The project currently involves annual sampling at Sachs Harbour, Resolute Bay, Arviat, and Nain. All sampling is done by local harvesters and coordinated by the communities who are supplied with sampling kits and instructions. Samples of blubber of female and juvenile seals are analyzed to determine trends in POPs concentrations. Livers of male and female seals are analyzed for mercury and other heavy metals as well as new contaminants such as brominated and fluorinated chemicals. Muscle samples are analyzed for mercury and also for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to assess seal diets. Samples are archived for possible future contaminant studies.

Outreach activities through educational workshops on ringed seal health are annually organized in communities.

 

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Temporal and Spatial Trends of Legacy and Emerging Organic and Metal/Elemental Contaminants in Canadian Polar Bears

Project Leaders

Dr. Robert Letcher, Environment and Climate Chance Canada (ECCC), Ottawa
Markus Dyck, Government of Nunavut

Team Members

Adam Morris, Abde Idrissi, and Guy Savard, ECCC and Carleton University; Joel Heath, The Arctic Eider Society; Eva Kruemmel, independent consultant for the Inuit Circumpolar Council

Funds

$34,060

Project Summary (2019-2020)

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the top predator of the arctic marine ecosystem and food web. Starting in 2007 and ongoing into the 2019-2020 fiscal year, on a biannual or annual basis (depending on the contaminants measured), this project seeks to determine long-term temporal trends and changes of Northern Contaminants Program priority persistent (legacy and emerging) organic and elemental pollutants (POPs) in polar bears and focusing on the southern and western Hudson Bay (Nunavut) subpopulations. We will collect sample data on essentially all of the emerging POPs that are Northern Contaminants Program priorities, and mercury. To more clearly reveal temporal trends, we will look to see what portion of the variance in POPs concentrations is due to confounding factors such as age, sex, body condition, time of collection, lipid content, and diet and food web structure (via carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios and fatty acid profiles). Northern community members are important partners in this research as they carry out the annual harvest of polar bears and collect tissue samples for POP and mercury monitoring, and their indigenous knowledge combined with scientific knowledge will be essential to fully interpret the long term POP and mercury data sets.

 

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Temporal Trends of Mercury and Halogenated Organic Compounds (Legacy and Emerging) in Three Beluga Populations Landed at Hendrickson Island NT, Sanikiluaq NU and Pangnirtung NU

Project Leaders

Lisa Loseto, Steven Ferguson, and Cortney Watt, Fisheries Oceans Canada (DFO)

Team Members

Shannon MacPhee, Bruno Rosenberg, Dana Neumann, Ashley Elliot, Dave Boguski, Jason Stow and Ole Nielsen, DFO; Amila DeSilva, Magali Houde and Jane Kirk/Amber Gleason, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Emily Nee-Way/Alan Kennedy, Fisheries Joint Management Committee; Amy Caughey and Wanda Joy , Nunavut Health and Social Services; Kaitlyn Menard, NWT Public Health and Social Services, Emily Jenkins, University of Saskatoon; Stephane Laire/Emily Coulture, University of Montreal; Sonja Ostertag, University of Waterloo; Peter Ross/Rhiannon Moore and Marie Noel, Ocean Wise

Funds

$71,525

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This project monitors contaminant levels in three beluga populations to see if there are differences in concentrations, by location and over time, in mercury and organic halogenated compounds (including legacy and new compounds). We plan to strengthen the programs and partnerships with the communities by building a holistic or ecosystem based approach to the data collection that includes Indigenous knowledge and involves multidisciplinary research focused on belugas and their supporting ecosystem. With the development of solid long-term contaminant datasets we can begin to bridge knowledge systems and the observed climate change impacts on ecosystems to improve our understanding of the contaminant trends in the context of ecosystem shifts and emission trends.

 

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Temporal Trends of Contaminants in Arctic Seabird Eggs

Project Leader

Philippe Thomas, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Carleton University

Team Members

Robert Letcher, Paul Smith, Grant Gilchrist, Abde Miftah Idrissi and Guy Savard, ECCC; Mark Mallory, Acadia University; Kyle Elliott, McGill University

Funds

$86,998

Project Summary (2019-2020)

Since 1975, contaminants have been monitored in seabird eggs from Prince Leopold Island (PLI) in the Canadian High Arctic. This program is the longest-running contaminants monitoring program for seabird eggs in the circumpolar Arctic. Eggs of thick-billed murres (TBMU) have also been sampled since 1993 from Coats Island in northern Hudson Bay. Coats Island is a Low Arctic monitoring location that we can use to compare with our data from Prince Leopold Island. For the first time ever, in 2019, TBMU eggs were also collected from Cape Graham Moore (Bylot Island) to assess the feasibility of adding a third monitoring station to the program.

In 2019-2020, eggs will be collected from TBMU and northern fulmars at PLI. Sampling of black-legged kittiwakes, black guillemots, and glaucous gulls occurs every five years and these were last completed in 2018. Consultations with the Sulukvait Area Co-Management Committee (ACMC) were completed in January and July 2019 and concerns regarding annual seabird research and monitoring activities carried out at Prince Leopold Island have been alleviated. In collaboration with the ACMC, ECCC will work with the community to install, retrieve and analyse data collected from remote cameras that monitor bird activity at the colony, and cruise ship/tourist visits to PLI. Cameras were retrieved in July 2019 and a new one installed while we wait to analyse the pictures with a community member. We will continue to engage and communicate with the ACMC regarding the relevance and importance of data and information generated by the field program at Prince Leopold Island while entertaining new ideas on how we can work together to address questions that are relevant to both western science and local traditional knowledge.

 

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Temporal Trends and Spatial Variations in Mercury in Sea-Run Arctic Char from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

Project Leaders

Marlene Evans and Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Ekaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay) Hunters and Trappers Organization; Milla Rautio and Guillaume Grosbois, Univerisité du Québec à Chicoutimi; Michael Power, University of Waterloo; Donald S. McLennan, Canadian High Arctic Research Station; Geoff Koehler, Jonathan Keating and Xiaowa Wang, ECCC; Les Harris, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Funds

$16,100

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This core biomonitoring study is investigating trends in mercury concentrations and other metals in sea-run (anadromous) Arctic char from the domestic fishery at Ekaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay). Of particular interest is how mercury concentrations are responding to changes in climate, air circulation patterns, and Asian and other mercury emissions. As in previous years, 20 Arctic char will be harvested from the sea by local fishermen and provided to us for analysis; we will work with the Hunters and Trappers Organization in these collections. Additionally, we will continue to collaborate with others to measure mercury in fish living in Grenier and other lakes. Field work with universities collaborators, which began in Summer 2017 and involved community members, will continue into 2019. We will visit Ekaluktutiak to provide an update on study results, explore opportunities for additional study of these fish populations and lakes, and may conduct our own limited field sampling.

 

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Temporal Trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Mercury in Landlocked char in High Arctic Lakes

Project Leaders

Derek Muir and Jane Kirk, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Günter Köck, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Studies (ÖAW-IGF)

Team Members

Xiaowa Wang, Camilla Teixeira, Amber Gleason, Amy Sett and Mary Williamson, ECCC; Jacques Carrier and Enzo Barresi, Environment Canada; Debbie Iqaluk, Resolute Bay; Ana Cabrerizo, Spanish Research Council; Ben Barst, University of Alaska; Karista Hudelson, University of Windsor

Funds

$58,475

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This project is investigating how concentrations of contaminants in landlocked Arctic char from lakes in Nunavut are changing over time and whether climate change is influencing the time trends. As the only fish in most High Arctic lakes, char are useful indicators of contaminants that enter lake waters from the atmosphere. We do this by measuring persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury in the fish each year to see if levels are decreasing or increasing. The project has information on long term (13-22 sampling years over about 28 years) trends of POPs and mercury in char in four lakes including Resolute, Char and Amituk Lakes on Cornwallis Island near the community of Resolute Bay, and Lake Hazen in Quttinirpaaq National Park on Ellesmere Island.

All of the fish collected so far have been analyzed for mercury, toxic metals such as cadmium, as well as essential elements such as selenium. A smaller number have been analyzed for POPs (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other related chemicals) including new and emerging contaminants.

We plan to continue annual sampling of Amituk, Char, North, Small, Hazen, and Resolute lakes. Since 2005, Debbie Iqaluk has collected fish from all our targeted lakes on Cornwallis Island in a wide range of weather and ice conditions. Results of the project will continue to be reported annually to the Hunters and Trappers Association, the Hamlet of Resolute Bay (Qausuittuq), and to the Nunavut Environmental Contaminants Committee on a timely basis.

 

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Spatial and Long-Term Trends in Persistent Organic Contaminants and Metals in Lake Trout and Burbot from the Northwest Territories

Project Leaders

Marlene Evans and Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Rosy Bjornson and Diane Giroux, Akaitcho Territory Government; Ray Griffith and Lauren King, Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation; George Low and Mike Low, Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management Program; Xinhua Zhu, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; John Smol and Kathleen Ruhland, Queens University; Heidi Swanson, University of Waterloo; Daryl McGoldrick, Jonathan Keating, and Xiaowa Wang, ECCC

Funds

$48,800

Project Summary (2019-2020)

In this study we are measuring mercury, other metals, and persistent organic pollutants in lake trout and burbot from three locations in two regions of Great Slave Lake to assess trends in concentrations and influencing factors of contaminants. We will get lake trout and burbot from the domestic fishery at Lutsel K’e (East Arm) and the commercial fishery operating out of Hay River (West Basin); burbot and northern pike will be obtained from the domestic fishery at Fort Resolution (West Basin), located on the Slave River delta. Twenty fish of each species will be harvested from each location by community members. We will focus on analyzing concentrations of mercury, other metals, and newer chemicals such as flame retardants. We will also update our trend analyses of mercury and organic contaminants in lake trout and burbot in Great Slave Lake, and our mercury trend investigations in several species of fish from Great Slave Lake and other areas in the Northwest Territories. Results will be reported to our partner communities in a coordinated visit to the Great Slave Lake area. This will provide us with the opportunity to discuss study results, explore expanded community partnerships, and conduct lake sampling and training while on site.

 

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Temporal Trend Studies of Trace Metals and Halogenated Organic Contaminants (Hocs), Including New and Emerging Persistent Compounds, in Mackenzie River Burbot, Fort Good Hope, NWT

Project Leaders

Gary Stern and Paloma Carvalho, University of Manitoba

Team Members

Harry Harris, Fort Good Hope Renewable Resources Council; Liisa Jantunen and Tom Harner, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Funds

$24,506

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This year, 20 whole burbot will be collected from the Mackenzie River by the Fort Good Hope Renewable Resources Council and sent to the University of Manitoba to record weight, length, age, sex, dietary indicators, and contaminants like mercury and persistent organic pollutants (e.g. pesticides, flame retardants). Collecting these fish will help us investigate the contaminant concentrations and trends in these burbot, and what, if any, associations these concentrations and trends have to biological and environmental data. Burbot are an important country food for the community of Fort Good Hope and the Sahtu region, and with help from territorial and national health authorities, we ultimately want to determine if these fish are safe to eat. We also want to know what environmental and ecological factors may be affecting contaminant concentrations and trends, in an effort to understand and contribute to best practices for managing renewable resources (burbot) in the Mackenzie River. Previous results show that average mercury concentrations in past burbot collections were 0.36 parts per million (ppm) in muscle tissue, which is below the Health Canada guideline (0.5 ppm).

 

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Temporal Trends in Yukon Lake Trout

Project Leader

Mary Gamberg, Gamberg Consulting

Team Members

Deb Fulmar, Ta’an Kwach’an Council; Monica Krieger, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations; Brady Mayes, Kwanlin Dun First Nation; James Macdonald, Council of Yukon First Nations; Oliver Barker, Environment Yukon; Darrell Otto, Yukon College; Derek Muir and Xiaowa Wang, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Funds

$34,201

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This project is a long term monitoring project focused on maintaining current data on contaminant levels in lake trout from two Yukon lakes (Laberge and Kusawa) to continue to assess the temporal trends of contaminants such as trace metals (e.g. mercury, selenium, arsenic), organochlorine contaminants, selected current use chemicals such as brominated flame retardants, and fluorinated organic compounds so as to determine levels of these contaminants in fish. Results will also determine exposure risk to people who consume the fish, and whether it is increasing or decreasing with time while also helping test the effectiveness of international controls on tested contaminants.

This project partners with three First Nations who hold traditional territory on each lake (Ta’an Kwach’an Council, Kwanlin Dun First Nation and Champagne and Aishihik on Kusawa Lake) to sample the fish and engage with youth and elders to foster dialogue on contaminants and local and Indigenous Knowledge.

 

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Caribou Contaminant Monitoring

Project Leader

Mary Gamberg, Gamberg Consulting

Team Members

Mike Suitor, Martin Kienzler, Yukon Government; Joe Tetlichi, Porcupine Caribou Management Board; Darius Elias, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation; Mitch Campbell, Government of Nunavut; Arviat Hunters and Trappers Organization; Joelle Taillon, Government of Quebec; Lloyd Binder, Canadian Reindeer; Xiaowa Wang and Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada; Susan Kutz, University of Calgary

Funds

$89,740

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This project will measure contaminant levels in Canadian Arctic caribou to determine if the populations remain healthy in terms of contaminant loads, whether these important resources remain safe and healthy food choices for Northerners, and to see if contaminant levels are changing over time.

Previous studies have found that cadmium and mercury levels in caribou kidneys and livers from across the circumpolar north are higher than in domestic animals grown for food consumption. This prompted a health advisory from Yukon Health and Social Services, based on a health assessment from Health Canada (a maximum intake of 25 kidneys or 12 entire livers is recommended per person per year for the Porcupine caribou). Although traditional foods are safe to eat at estimated consumption rates (based on dietary survey data) it was recommended that a trend-monitoring program be established to verify that the levels are not rising from local or long-range inputs and that new contaminants be addressed as they arise.

This project addresses this recommendation by monitoring two caribou herds, the Porcupine (from Yukon) and the Qamanirjuaq (from Nunavut) on an annual basis. Monitoring populations from the eastern and western Arctic gives scientists a better understanding of the distribution of contaminants in the Arctic and the variability of contaminant burdens between herds. Two additional herds, the Leaf River from Nunavik and reindeer from Inuvik, NT, will be monitored this year. Twenty animals from each herd will be sampled, and their kidneys analyzed for a suite of 34 elements, including arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. Livers will be analyzed for a range of brominated and fluorinated compounds that have previously been found in caribou.

 

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Community Based Seawater Monitoring for Organic Contaminants and Mercury in the Canadian Arctic

Project Leaders

Jane Kirk, Amila De Silva and Derek Muir, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Rainer Lohmann, University of Rhode Island

Team Members

Peter Amarualik Sr, Resolute; Rodd Laing and Liz Pijogge, Nunatsiavut Government; Stephen Insley, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada; Xiaowa Wang, Christine Spencer, Camila Teixeira and Amber Gleason, ECCC; Igor Lehnherr, University of Toronto-Missisauga; Jean-Sebastien Moore, Université Laval; Brent Else, University of Calgary; Dave Adelman, University of Rhode Island

Funds

$42,710

Project Summary (2019-2020)

This project is a long-term, annual monitoring program that looks at levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury in seawater to predict and better understand the impacts of changing ice, permafrost and snow on contaminant levels. The project became a “core monitoring” project of the Northern Contaminants Program in 2015-16. This study has expanded to other locations in the Arctic to gain an understanding of how representative Barrow Strait is to other areas. Seawater samples are taken using plastic films called passive samplers and Niskin water samplers to efficiently analyze a suite of very bioaccumulative contaminants.

For 2019-2020, we will continue the sampling in Barrow Strait, Antalâk Fiord, and Cambridge Bay with help from local communities and scientists. Ultimately, our goal is to extend the existing information on contaminants in seawater at Resolute so that we can compare results over time at different locations. This project involves Indigenous people in the sampling and provides data on how contaminants are entering traditional foods through seawater.

 

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Assessing Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Canadian Arctic Air and Water Bodies as an Entry Point into the Arctic Food Chain

Project Leader

Liisa Jantunen, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Gary Stern, Cathrin Veenaas and Paloma Calabbria-Carvalho: University of Manitoba; Miriam Diamond and Sarah Bernstein: University of Toronto; Hayley Hung, Fiona Wong, Chubashini Shunthirasingham, Amila De Silva, Kim Fernie, Rachelle Robitaille and the Organic Analysis Laboratory: ECCC; Alexandre Forest, Université Laval; Humfrey Melling, Deportment of Fisheries and Ocean; Kyle Elliot, McGill University; Jason Carpenter and Daniel Martin, Nunavut Arctic College and Annika Trimble: Aurora College.

Funds

$34,650

Project Summary (2019-2020)

Part of Canada’s commitment to international agreements is to monitor levels of specific contaminants in the environment. To monitor levels of specific contaminants and to know how contaminant levels are changing in the Arctic, we will collect air, water, and sediment samples for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging compounds of concern in the Canadian Archipelago during the summer of 2019 in collaboration with ArcticNet. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are important to study because they are taken up by arctic animals including fish, seals and whales, and when those traditional foods are eaten, Northerners are exposed to these contaminants. We have described trends for many POPs in air and water over time at different locations in the Canadian Archipelago. This project will continue to monitor these trends and to collect data to describe trends for emerging compounds of concern. This research has set baseline concentrations against which can be compared to future measurements as the emission of these compounds change and climate change continues. Community visits to Whitehorse will allow for consultation with the local community and engagement with students in the high school and college/university.

 

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Transport and Fate of Mercury, Perfluorinated Alkyl Substances and Organophosphate Esters Along a Hydrological Path from Glaciers to Downstream Lake Hazen (Nunavut)

Project Leaders

Igor Lehnherr, University of Toronto (U of T)
Amila De Silva, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Jane Kirk, Christine Spencer, Amber Gleason and Greg Lawson, ECCC; Danielle Lemire, U of T

Funds

$22,454

Project Summary (2019-2020)

The high Arctic continues to receive a wide range of contaminants released by human activities from the south and industrialized nations around the world. Although there are emission regulations and bans on usage for some chemicals, concentrations of certain legacy contaminants (i.e. persistent organic pollutants that are already regulated internationally) are not declining in the high Arctic. Furthermore, it now appears that climate change is also influencing how contaminants arrive in the arctic, their life-cycle and how they can bioaccumulate in the food chain. For example, with warming and increased melting of glacier ice, legacy contaminants that were previously stored frozen in the ice may now be released to downstream ecosystems and aquatic animals such as fish.

In our previous NCP project in 2017-2019 (led by Dr. Cora Young, York University), our team identified temporal trends in the accumulation of legacy/new and emerging contaminants in glacier ice and in lake sediments in the Lake Hazen watershed. We found that contaminants are stored in glacier ice over long time periods (decades, centuries and likely longer), as long as the ice remains frozen. To build on previous research, we will sample mercury and new emerging organic pollutants in glacier ice, meltwater pools on the surface of glaciers, and in rivers fed by glacier meltwater to determine the identity and magnitude of contaminants being released, and to what extent they are transferred downstream. We will also sample smaller streams fed by permafrost meltwater, as permafrost may be a source of contaminants that are newly entering the watershed. Using all of the available data, we will also be able to determine how much of the mercury entering the lake is old “legacy” mercury being re-released from glaciers and/or permafrost versus mercury recently deposited in the watershed. This project is relevant to northern communities by developing a better understanding of climate-driven increases in contaminants burdens in Arctic lakes, including contaminant accumulation in fish and wildlife.

 

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Climate Change, Contaminants, Ecotoxicology: Overwinter Interactions in Arctic Seabirds near their Southern Range Limits

Project Leaders

Kyle Elliott, McGill University
Kim Fernie, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Birgit Braune, Robert Letcher and Philippe Thomas, ECCC; Alison Patterson, McGill University

Funds

$37,600

Project Summary (2019-2020)

Toxic contamination in Arctic wildlife is occurring with rapid climate change. As Arctic temperatures warm, ice coverage decreases and consequently, migratory animals change where they spend the winter. Such migratory changes may lead to differing levels of contamination, which can further change migratory behaviour. Contaminants are a concern as they can disrupt hormones, behaviour, and reproduction. There is growing evidence to support the hypothesis that contaminants disrupt hormones associated with migration and the timing of breeding. In the past three years, we have showed that mercury influences thyroid hormones, which then influences food gathering behaviour limiting the birds’ ability to adjust to climate change. We will build on that key result by studying the year-round interactions between contaminants, climate change and ecotoxicology. Specifically, we will answer two questions: (1) where do seabirds obtain their contaminants and how will that change with climate change? (2) do contaminants alter how murres interact with ice year-round, and does that influence when they arrive at the colony in the spring?

 

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Microplastics Contamination in Sediment, Water, Snow/Ice and Fish of the Canadian Arctic

Project Leaders

Patricia Corcoran, University of Western Ontario (UWO)
Liisa Jantunen, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Team Members

Nathalie Tufenkji and Laura Hernandez, McGill University; Paloma Calabria Carvalho, University of Manitoba; Miriam Diamond, Chelsea Rochman and Sarah Bernstein, University of Toronto; Bryan Neff, UWO; Gary Stern and Jasmin Schuster ECCC; Snow Sampling at Little Fox Lake, Laberge Environmental; Jason Carpenter and Daniel Martin, Nunavut Arctic College; Annika Trimble, Aurora College

Funds

$72,525

Project Summary (2019-2020)

Microplastic (MP) particles are mixed with the food sources of marine organisms and could be ingested during foraging. To reduce ecological impacts, it is essential to understand the sources, fate and consequences of MPs in the aquatic environment and the impacts of these contaminants on the health and traditional lifestyles of Northerners. Studies of MPs in polar regions are rare compared to temperate region examples, and thus we will sample snow, ice, water, sediment and fish to determine the extent of contamination of the Canadian Arctic ecosystem. In collaboration with ArcticNet we will sample throughout the Canadian Archipelago, including Hudson Bay, from on board the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Amundsen. Together with Jantunen’s core monitoring project, we will visit Whitehorse to learn how Indigenous knowledge can be used to better interpret our results. At the completion of this project, we will distribute a translated pamphlet to northern communities to inform on the current status of MPs in the Canadian Arctic.

 

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Contaminants in Birds Consumed in Nunavut: Combining Historical Data with New Measurements in the North Baffin Region

Project Leader

Pierre Legagneux, Université Laval

Team Members

Gilles Gauthier and Mélanie Lemire, Université Laval; Philippe Thomas and Grant Gilchrist, Carleton University; Kyle Elliott, McGill University; José Gérin-Lajoie, Université du Québec à Trois Rivières

Funds

$43,005

Project Summary (2019-2020)

Northerners that consume country food are exposed to contaminants present in Arctic wildlife. In the North Baffin region, thousands of eggs are consumed annually by Inuit, especially from snow geese and thick billed murres. During a recent consultation held in Pond Inlet, the presence of contaminants in bird eggs were identified as an important issue to the community. Our project thus aims to measure mercury, legacy (i.e. internationally regulated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging/newer POPs present in goose and murre eggs and body tissues. For snow geese, we will compare concentrations of contaminants in eggs with studies conducted in the region >30 years ago and assess contaminant concentration in adults from 0 to 24 years old to examine possible bioaccumulation. For thick billed murres, we will compare contaminant levels to those detected in other populations in the Canadian Arctic. Collection of bird eggs will be carried out by local hunters according to a sampling scheme that will be designed jointly with the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO). This project will provide baseline information to evaluate the relative risk of exposure to contaminants in bird eggs consumed by northern residents and this information will be transferred and discussed with them during local meetings.

 

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Influences of Environmental Change on Levels and Trends of Methylmercury in the Beaufort Beluga Food Web

Project Leaders

Amanda Giang and Miling Li, University of British Columbia (UBC)

Team Members

Lisa Loseto, Fisheries Ocean Canada; William Cheung, UBC; Colin Thackray, Harvard University; Eva Kruemmel and Michael Scheer, ScienTissiME; Ruth Goldstein, University of California Irvine

Funds

$15,000

Project Summary (2019-2020)

Methylmercury is known to pose serious adverse effects for marine ecosystem health in the Canadian Arctic. Rapid changes in Arctic climate may have affected mercury transport and bioaccumulation in many different ways. Methylmercury concentrations of Beaufort Sea beluga whales increased at > 5% per year in the 1990s and slightly declined in the 2000s. The causes for the observed changes over time are still unclear. This project will address two research questions: (1) What pathways have driven the historical changes of beluga methylmercury concentrations?; (2) How will methylmercury concentrations in the Beaufort beluga food web respond to global mercury policy and climate change? This research will focus on improving a bioaccumulation model for the Beaufort Sea beluga food web, drawing on science and Inuit knowledge, to determine major factors controlling methylmercury bioaccumulation. We will use this model to explore future changes to beluga methylmercury concentrations, given changes in major drivers of mercury (such as global Hg emission reductions, future climate change and variability). Results from this study are intended to support Inuvialuit communities in anticipating future methylmercury concentrations in the beluga food web. We will continue to work with the Inuvialuit Game Council and other community partners to refine this project and explore new opportunities.

 

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