2008 Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum | Abstracts

Monitoring Change in the Arctic: Use of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB)

Stacy S. Vander Pol¹, Paul R. Becker², Rusty D. Day³, Jocelyn R. Flanary⁴, Jennifer M. Keller⁵, John R. Kucklick⁶, Amanda J. Moors⁷, David Point⁸, Rebecca S. Pugh^9
1Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8994, Fax 843-762-8742, stacy.vanderpol@nist.gov
²Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8861, Fax 843-762-8742, paul.becker@nist.gov
³Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8904, Fax 843-762-8742, rusty.day@nist.gov
⁴Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8977, Fax 843-762-8742, jocelyn.flanary@nist.gov
⁵Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8863, Fax 843-762-8742, jennifer.keller@nist.gov
⁶Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8866, Fax 843-762-8742, john.kucklick@nist.gov
⁷Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8953, Fax 843-762-8742, amanda.moors@nist.gov
⁸Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8906, Fax 843-762-8742, david.point@nist.gov
⁹Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA, Phone 843-762-8952, Fax 843-762-8742, rebecca.pugh@nist.gov

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) maintains the cryogenic Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) in Charleston, SC. This bank contains approximately 1700 Alaskan marine mammal tissue samples collected from 17 species since 1987 and approximately 1200 Alaskan seabird egg clutches, collected from five species, since 1999. Recent projects examining contaminant concentrations in these tissues illustrate the benefits of specimen banking for monitoring environmental changes. For instance, the concentration of emerging contaminants such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) increased in beluga whale blubber samples collected from the Chukchi Sea between 1990 and 2000. Likewise, butyl tin compounds also increased in the liver of these animals and in ringed seals during the same time span. Ringed seals collected from Barrow had higher concentrations of organic contaminants in their blubber than those from Nome, but the ratios suggested fresh sources of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and DDT entering the northern Bering Sea. In addition, samples of blood and liver from northern fur seals and beluga whales are currently being analyzed for perfluorinated compounds. Analyses of the seabird egg samples for BFRs, PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, butyl tins, and both mercury isotopic signatures and concentrations have shown differences between species at the same location, concentration differences between the Gulf of Alaska and Bering and Chukchi seas, and temporal changes. As the environment changes and new techniques or compounds of concern emerge, the samples banked in the Marine ESB will continue to provide a valuable resource for monitoring these changes.