Processes and Fluxes of Contaminants in Aquatic Systems

Regions: Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut

Tags: contaminants, hydrology, atmospheric pollution, mass balance, snow melt

Principal Investigator: Gregor, Dennis J. (7)
Licence Number: 12339
Organization: National Water Research Institute
Licensed Year(s): 1993
Issued: Jan 01, 1993
Project Team: D. Jeffries, J. Carey, R. Rowsell, M. Alaee, R. Neureuther, M. Hanna, N. Jones, D. Lean, A. Redshaw, M. Diamond, L. Maus, B Koenig

Objective(s): To operate an experimental basin in the high Arctic for the purpose of determining a detailed hydrologic and contaminant budget for the basin; to measure the hydrology and flux of organic contaminants and specific ions, especially during the winter accumu- lation and snow melt seasons; to investigate and quantify the major processes affecting contaminant transformation, transport and fate in order to provide predictive capability for basin mass balances; to develop and calibrate contaminant transport models using the results of this study; to compare results to other basin studies.

Project Description: Atmospheric contaminants that accumulate in the snow are released during a very short time in the spring when the snow melts and washes out through rivers and lakes into the Arctic Ocean. Contaminants can be bound to substrates, consumed by organisms or transformed so that not all contaminants deposited in the snow reach the Arctic Ocean. In this on-going study, contaminant levels and distribution in Amituk Lake and surrounding area are monitored.