Paleo-perspectives on environmental change in the high Arctic: the Canadian Contribution

The results of the project are important to the study of long-range / transboundary dispersion of airborne contaminants in the Arctic, thus, to the health of Northerners. One specific objective is to define the baseline fluxes of Hg deposited from the atmosphere in the Arctic and to refine estimates of the net accumulation rates of Hg in snow from airborne sources and long-range transport. On Baffin Island, another goal associated with the project, is to improve our understanding of the physical processes that control the transfer of Hg and methyl mercury (MeHg) from snow to aquatic ecosystems in glacierized basins. The results are also important for the study of climatic change and its drivers, dynamics, and impacts. For example, the NEEM project, is expected to produce the first, undisturbed, ice core record from Greenland. This ice core will cover the last interglacial period including both the onset and decline. This climatic interval is of direct relevance to modern concerns. It may well provide a good approximation of a warmer future with higher sea levels and, possibly, a much smaller Greenland Ice Sheet.