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Two global atmospheric transport models for persistent toxic substances were employed to quantify the intercontinental atmospheric transport of lindane in 2005 using a recently constructed global lindane emission inventory. The focus of this numerical investigation was to identify, on an intercontinental scale, the major sources of lindane that contributed to the contamination of North America and the Arctic. Both models simulated several strong episodic trans-Pacific atmospheric transport events of lindane from its sources in Asia to the western seaboard of North America. Modeling results also detected, forthe firsttime, an important atmospheric pathway for persistent toxic substances from Western Africa/Western Europe to the Caribbean, the southern United States, and the eastern seaboard of North America. Several episodic lindane transAtlantic atmospheric transport events were found from May to October. These events were associated primarily with the easterly trade winds and the African easterly wave that extends from the subtropical eastern Atlantic to the Caribbean. This atmospheric pathway for toxic chemicals has a substantial implication for the level of toxic substances in North America. Atmospheric mechanisms contributing to these transport events are briefly discussed. Multiple modeling scenarios were studied to assess the contribution of lindane sources in Europe, Asia, and North America to its fate in the Arctic. Results show that these continental contributions are season-dependent with the highest contribution from Europe in the spring.

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In this paper the important mechanisms affecting the deterioration of Arctic icebergs are modeled based on parameterizations developed for the International Ice Patrol. The model simulations of the deterioration of three icebergs in the Grand Banks/Labrador Sea area off the Canadian east coast are compared with observations. The model parameterizations provide a reasonable approximation of iceberg deterioration with best results being obtained where detailed observations of the above-water and underwater portions of the iceberg are available enabling accurate estimations of iceberg mass and other parameters needed for the model. A quantitative assessment of the deterioration of icebergs in the Grand Banks/Labrador Sea area is also carried out for each month of the year when the sea surface temperature was above zero. Wave erosion is found to be the major deterioration mechanism. Wave erosion and the resulting calving of overhanging slabs together account for more than 80 percent of the deterioration rate. A small iceberg drifting on the Grand Banks could lose up to one third of its mass in one day.