Zooplankton and Algae Mercury Data in Amundsen Gulf, 2008

Sampling took place on legs 6, 7, 8b, and 9 of the CFL project on the CCGS Amundsen (2008). Zooplankton were sampled with a 1x1m2 (200 µm mesh) net through the moon-pool and with a 1m diameter (200 µm mesh) ring net on the ice at ice covered stations. In open water, samples were collected with 2x1 sq.m (500 µm mesh), 4x1 sq.m (500 and 200 µm mesh), and rectangular mid-water trawl (1600 µm mesh). Samples were live sorted to species and frozen at -25C. Algae were collected from the bottom ice via ice cores and the dive program, from the ice interface/surface water with a Hg clean Niskin and a hose and pump on a 1m arm, and from the chlorophyll a maximum depth via the rosette. Samples in ice were frozen in the dark, while samples in water were filtered via dual filtration following Morrison and Watras (1999) and filters were frozen at -25C. Zooplankton species Calanus glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus were analyzed for total mercury using CVAAS; C. hyperboreus was also analyzed for methyl mercury via Gas Chromatography Atomic Fluorescence Spectrophotometry (GC AFS). The algae samples were analyzed for THg using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) and MeHg using cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CVAFS).