Organochlorine pollutant concentrations measured in the blubber of Weddell seals from multiple Antarctic sites. Data highlights geographic variability, with samples from King George Island in 1994 showing the lowest DDT and PCB levels detected globally in comparable marine mammals. The dataset was contributed by the organization SCIOPS and captures a snapshot from 1994.
Use Cases
- Analyze geographic variation in DDT concentration (ng/g) across sites spanning 69°S to 78°S.
- Compare PCB levels (ng/g) in seal blubber from King George Island against other Antarctic reference sites.
- Investigate the relationship between latitude/site location and organohalogen pollutant magnitude.
- Assess the order-of-magnitude difference in contaminant loads between the mild-climate region and higher-latitude sites.
Strengths
- Provides specific concentration measurements for DDT (11-19 ng/g) and PCB (1-2.5 ng/g) at the lowest-detected site.
- Enables comparison across a latitudinal gradient from 69°S to 78°S in Antarctica.
Limitations
- Sample collection year is 1994, making the data temporally stale for assessing current pollution trends.
- Unknown sample size (row count) and specific measurement locations beyond the described latitudinal range.
- Lacks detailed column schema and raw measurement data for statistical re-analysis.
Provenance
- Source
- SCIOPS, accessed via NASA EarthData.
- Collection Method
- Chemical analysis of organochlorine concentrations in blubber samples from Weddell seals.
- Time Range
- 1994
- Freshness
- Data is from a single collection year, 1994.
- Geography
- Antarctic sites, including King George Island and locations between 69°S and 78°S.