Distribution of copper, lead, zinc, mercury, and arsenic in the surface sediments off the coast of northwestern Alaska

Increasing interest in potentially harmful substances utilized and discarded by man has raised question about the normal distribution of chemical elements in the natural environment.  This interest prompted a baseline study of a pristine region off the northern coast of Alaska.  Information was gathered on currents, water clarity, nutrients, temperature and salinity, zooplakton, benthic communities, neritic fauna, bird and mammal population and pesticide residues, sediment composition and chemistry of the sediments and their interstitial waters.  This information will provide a base for ascertaining and evaluating future changes and for assessment of the potential hazard in this region and ecosystems elsewhere.