Review and application of Russian and Norwegian methods for measuring and estimating riverine inputs of heavy metals to the Barents Sea

Abstract

This report presents the results from the Norwegian-Russian collaboration project NordRID project, which was carried out from December 2011 to December 2013. Four institutions have been involved; INEP and IO RAS from the Russian side and Akvaplan-NIVA and NIVA from the Norwegian side. The main purpose of the project has been to review Russian and Norwegian methods for measuring and estimating riverine inputs of heavy metals to the Barents Sea. The report gives an overview of the most common methods applied for monitoring and calculating riverine inputs of heavy metals. INEP and IO-RAS have provided both meta-data and to some extent also real data for a number of rivers draining from the Kola and Arkhangelsk area, respectively. Two pilot studies with passive sampling techniques were performed as part of the project; one with DGTs (Diffusion Gradient in Thin-films) for detection of metals, and one with passive samplers for detection of hydrophobic contaminants. Two bilateral project meetings/workshops have been carried out during the project (at Svanhovd and in Oslo). The report contains recommendations for future work based on the studies and experiences made from the project.