Some macrofaunal effects of local pollution and glacier-induced sedimentation, with indicative chemical analyses, in the sediments of two Arctic fjords

摘要

Macrofaunal (>1 mm) and chemical sediment sampling was carried out in August 1992 close to the garbage dumping sites of the coal-mining industrialised settlements Longyearbyen (Adventfjord) and Barentsburg (Grønfjord), located in the Isfjord system, Svalbard. Six stations were sampled with respect to chemical parameters and fauna, while three stations were sampled with respect to only chemical parameters that comprised total organic carbon, total nitrogen, heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and chlorinated hydrocarbons (5-CB, HCB, γ-HCH, DDT, PCB7). The concentrations of PCB7, PAH and HCB were, respectively, up to 5, 16 and 30 times higher than assumed background concentrations, presumably as a result of terrestrial water drainage of coal particles originating from local coal-stores and industrial activities in general. The faunal diversities across the sampled areas were relatively low (e.g. Shannon-Wiener indices between 2.0 and 3.2), probably mainly as a result of glacier-induced fine-particulated inorganic impacts. A relatively high faunal abundance, and a quantitative dominance of the opportunistic polychaete taxaCapitella capitata and Chaetozone/Tharyxsp. in the Adventfjord indicated an additional source of perturbation, which was related to the untreated local sewage effluents and/or drainage water from the garbage dumping site