Data on sources of contamination in the ecoregion are limited because monitoring is sporadic and not comprehensive across trophic levels and contaminant types. Despite being relatively low compared to other ecoregions, contamination is considered to be an important pressure due to the ecoregion’s remoteness and small human population, as well as to the presence of animals at high trophic levels that bioaccumulate contaminants. Although there is currently no mining activity, there are metal ores in the region. Rock weathering, such as that observed in Northeast Greenland (Citronen Fjord), introduced high concentrations of zinc into the ecosystem. A lead and zinc mine in the northern subregion (Kong Oscars Fjord, active 1956–1963) resulted in contamination of the fjord that, though in decline, still persists.
Available evidence suggests that contamination in the ecosystem mainly originates from faraway diffuse sources. This limits the contaminants to those chemicals that can be transported over long distances and that bioaccumulate in the food chain. Arctic waters flowing through the ecoregion have higher mercury concentrations compared to Atlantic waters. Mercury levels in marine mammals in the European Arctic and in this ecoregion have generally decreased over the last decades. The mercury content in polar bears is monitored in the ecoregion and has increased since the 2000s.
