Persistent Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals (Including Mercury) - The Changing Arctic Environment: The Arctic Messenger - page 131

seals from the Canadian Arctic as early as 1973 and 1974. He considered his Arctic study
area as a reference area for his studies on seals on Sable Island (300 kilometres south-west
of Halifax, Nova Scotia). Meanwhile, Brynjulf Ottar was describing the concept of “the
grasshopper effect” ( Figure 8.2 ) and “cold trapping” by successive volatilization and con-
densation as early as 1981 and Don Mackay was working out the physical dynamics of
contaminant movement in and out of the gas phase at about the same time. I should take
theopportunitytointroduce thesetwointeresting scientists. BrynjulfOttarwasthefirstdir-
ector of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) and was a pioneer in studies to
understand long-range atmospheric transport, particularly with regard to acid rain. He was
clever and charming. Russel and I were fortunate to meet him once at separate meetings
shortly before his death. For me, it was at a Comité Arctique meeting in Oslo, and in about
30 minutes, he gave me enough insight on how to organise international action on organo-
chlorines to last the rest of my working life. Don Mackay must have few rivals in environ-
mental chemistry. Now past his mid-seventies, he is still turning out original research like a
graduate student. However, despite his amazing scientific output, I think his greatest legacy
is the outstanding brood of young environmental chemists and physicists who have sprung
from his care and who are now carrying on his science and mentoring tradition with yet
another generation. He is quite the patriarch!