Database title: Concentrations of PCBs, HCB and PAHs in the plankton of West Spitsbergen fjords (Kongsfjorden, Hornsund, Adventfjorden)

The aim of this project was to verify the hypothesis that the organisms inhabiting the Arctic fjords are exposed to organic contaminants, which in consequence accumulate in their tissues and further undergo biomagnification along the trophic chain. The research was focused on three Svalbard fjords, two of them characterized by different environmental conditions (Kongsfjorden, Hornsund) and maturity of the ecosystem, while Adventfjorden was selected to assess the importance of local sources of organic pollutants. The individual PCB, HCB and PAH concentrations in protist samples were up to 1.52 ng/g w.w., 0.28 ng/g w.w. and 5.51 ng/g w.w., respectively. The concentrations of PCB, HCB and PAH in zooplankton taxa range from below the limit of detection to 310 ng/g w.w.