Synopsis Of Research Conducted Under The 1999 2000 Northern Contaminants Program

Of the results of research and monitoring studies on contaminants in northern Canada, conducted under the auspices of the Northern Contaminants Program. The studies cover human health effects & risk assessment, monitoring health of Arctic peoples, environmental monitoring & modelling, local contaminants, communication and education of northern residents, international policy, and program management. For each study, information is given on project leader and team, objective, rationale, description of study, activities in each of its operating years, and results.

Concerns about the effects of global climate change have focused attention on the vulnerability of circumpolar regions. This book offers a synthesis of the spectrum of techniques available for generating long-term environmental records from circumpolar lakes.

Since the mid 1990s, legal action to eliminate persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has started resulting in a global Convention on POPs, the Stockholm Convention, and a regional Protocol under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (UN-ECE LRTAP Convention). POPs are characterized by long half-lives, persistence in the environment, they undergo long-range transport, accumulate in the environment and in biota, and they are toxic. The combination of these characteristics makes them a threat at the global level. This book makes the reader familiar with the goals of these two conventions, lays out characteristics of these compounds, presents results from case studies and addresses inventories, levels in humans and the environment as well as technologies to destroy them.

Of the results of research and monitoring studies on contaminants in northern Canada, conducted under the auspices of the Green Plan's Arctic Environmental Strategy/Northern Contaminants Program. The studies cover sources and transport of contaminants; contamination of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems; human exposure through diet and related health implications; communication and education of northern residents; and international initiatives addressing the global aspect of the problem. For each study, information is given on project leader and team, objective, rationale, description of study, activities in each of its operating years, and results.

In Arctic Canada, Hudson Bay is a site of great exploration history, aboriginal culture, and a vast marine wilderness supporting large populations of marine mammals and birds. These include some of the most iconic Arctic animals like beluga, narwhal, bowhead whales, and polar bears. Due to the challenges of conducting field research in this region, some of the mysteries of where these animals move, and how they are able to survive in such seemingly inhospitable, ice-choked habitats are just now being unlocked. For example, are polar bears being replaced by killer whales? This new information could not be more salient, as the Hudson Bay Region is undergoing rapid environmental change due to global warming, as well as increased pressures from industrial development interests. A Little Less Arctic brings together some of the world’s leading Arctic scientists to present the current state of knowledge on the physical and biological characteristics of Hudson Bay.