DOWN TO ZERO BOAT TOUR
Regular Updates from the Crew aboard the Ship, MV Greenpeace.

AUGUST 9 - LONGYEARBYEN, SVALBARD.

• The MV Greenpeace arrives in the Norwegian capital of Svalbard, Longyearbyen on August 9. Here we will start our "Down to Zero" toxics boat tour with a sampling program and open boat days to raise awareness of the pollution of this pristine wilderness with pollutants that travel long distances from their sources in industrialized and agricultural regions of the world.
  
  

  Prior to the ships arrival Greenpeace representatives and scientists met with the Governor of Svalbard and Environment officials. We were granted permission to conduct sampling for persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

  Longyearbyen is an administrative centre, with a large coal mining community and an emerging tourism industry. We have advertised an open ship on August 17 when we return to the town. Greenpeace spokesperson Jan gave an interview to the local weekly newspaper "Svalbard Posten" about our concerns over pollution and the purpose of our visit to Svalbard.The "Svalbard Posten" is the most northern written publication in the world!
  
  

  GUANO SAMPLING: Today we collected our first sample of bird droppings from a cliff colony of Brunnich's guillemots in Spitsbergen. Guano sampling is not a commonly used technique but provides data on pollutants the birds consume in their food. We ensured that it causes no disturbance in the bird colonies and over the next few days we will be sampling at three sites on the west coast of Spitsbergen - the main island of Svalbard.

  
  
  
  

  SEMI-PERMEABLE MEMBRANE SAMPLING: Tomorrow (August 11) we will commence the placement of the semi- permeable membrane devices (SPMD) at various points on land and in the sea around Svalbard.

  The SPMDs accumulate pollutants and are used to sample air and water pollution. It is a relatively new technique developed by the University of Umea in Sweden. These devices seem well suited for use in remote areas so we are testing them here in the Arctic in cooperation with Umea University. In three weeks they will be collected by Greenpeace and Umea scientists who will conduct the analysis.