SEA-ICE PRODUCTION AND TRANSPORT OF POLLUTANTS IN THE LAPTEV SEA, 1979-1993

Pollutants such as radionuclides can be incorporated into ice formed i n shallow waters of the marginal seas, by suspension freezing, includi ng frazil- and anchor-ice formation. This ice thickens through the win ter and can survive the summer melt to eventually be pushed into the p erennial ice zone and thus be transported long distances. After a few years, when the ice finally melts, these radionuclides can be re-relea sed in biologically rich waters. We estimate that a mean of 256000 km( 2) of sea ice is produced annually in the shallow water area of the La ptev Sea during the October freeze-up and in the flaw lead during wint er, accounting for approx. 20% of the total ice area fluxing through t he Fram Strait per year. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.