Dear colleague,
With this e-mail we would like to draw your attention to a session on
*/polar ecotoxicology, risk assessment and monitoring /*at the 19^th
SETAC Europe Annual Meeting to be held in Göteborg, Sweden (31 May - 4
June 2009). The aim of this session is to present new tools linking the
fate and effect of contaminants in the Arctic (from chemical fate via
exposure to effects on species and communities) and how this information
can be used in environmental risk assessments and the design of
environmental monitoring programs of polar regions (see complete session
abstract below).
We would like to encourage you to submit a paper for this session. The
_deadline for abstract submission is 30 November 2008_. We enclosed the
conference flyer with details. The session will only be part of the
final programme if the number of contributions is sufficient.
All abstracts MUST be submitted via the online abstract submission page,
which can be reached via http://goteborg.setac.eu/abstracts/. Note that
people submitting an abstract for a platform presentation, will be asked
to submit an extended abstract of 2 pages.
As session chairs we would be very grateful if you send in a paper,
however, we cannot guarantee the acceptance of a presentation.
Additionally, SETAC never grants free registrations to presenters. All
presenters MUST REGISTER for the meeting and pay the applicable
REGISTRATION FEES
Best wishes,
Mathijs Smit, Rainer Lohmann, Lionel Camus and Amy Merten
Session: D04
Title: Polar marine ecotoxicology, risk assessment and
monitoring
Intensified shipping and oil and gas activities are examples of
potential threats to the arctic. Long range transport of contaminants
and climate change are already threatening arctic environments. As
arctic environments are considered to be sensitive to physical-chemical
stress there is a need for sound ecological management of these areas.
However, to date it is not clear whether species within the arctic are
more sensitive than non-arctic species. In polar environments there is
also limited functional redundancy due to shorter food chains. As a
result ecosystem function might not be protected when ecosystem
structure is preserved. Risk assessments focussing on the preservation
of the most sensitive species might not be valid. Environmental managers
are interested whether they can use temperate criteria and guidelines to
protect polar marine organisms from contaminants. Knowledge on the
sensitivity of arctic species and communities is however limited.
A special challange is presented by oil spills in cold climates, such as
arctic, as the oil can be rapidly frozen into the ice sheet. The oil
will be to some extent preserved, in the sense that evaporation,
dissolution, and degradation are expected to be reduced. Estimates of
the pathways, release rates, and chemical characteristics of the
remaining oil will provide the basis for environmental exposure
assessments. Finally, the harsh conditions in arctic environments
combined with seasonal variability require dedicated tools for
environmental monitoring.
The aim of this session is to present new tools linking the fate and
effect of contaminants in the Arctic (from chemical fate via exposure to
effects on species and communities) and how this information can be used
in environmental risk assessments and the design of environmental
monitoring programs of polar regions.
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