Hydrocarbon concentrations in Baffin Bay sediments and benthic invertebrates (NGMP ID EC13)

Sample collections were made aboard the CCGS Amundsen during the ArcticNet field campaigns in August 2013 (Leg 1), July, August and October 2014 (Leg 1 & 3) and October 2015 (Leg 4). Sediment samples retrieved from box cores were sliced into 0.5 cm increments and frozen separately, while benthic invertebrates were collected using a benthic trawl. Individual species including Gorgoncephelus arcticus, Psilaster andromeda, Ophiopleura borealis and Ctenodiscus crispatus were identified, sorted, packed and stored at -30C and shipped to Winnipeg. At the University of Manitoba samples were freeze-dried and homogenized. Samples were then extracted and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes using a LECO Pegasus gas chromatographer with a high resolution time of flight mass spectrometer (GC-HR TOFMS). Supplementary data was also generated, including stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and carbon, as well as lipid (inverts) and total organic carbon (sediment) to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). Statistical analysis is currently ongoing.