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Figure 1 : Research vessel "Gauss" 
Most of the cruises were carried out by the research vessel FS Gauss (Figure 1). The 
cruise in February 2004 was carried out by FFS Walther Herwig, that to the Arctic by 
FS Polarstern. The geographical positions of the samples collected for this project are 
shown in Figure 2 to 4. Relevant parameters for sample characterisation (salinity for 
water samples and TOC values for sediments) have been summarised in Table 1 and 2. 
The stations were selected to obtain the most comprehensive and representative 
coverage of the sea areas under investigation. Water sampling stations were selected 
taking into account oceanographic parameters such as currents and river inputs. In 
sediment sampling, typical sediment parameters (e.g. TOC content) were taken into 
account as well. However, due to time restraints and limited resources, optimum 
sampling conditions have not always been achieved. 
Water samples were taken using a 10 1 glass bowl. In-line filtration followed by solid 
phase extraction (SPE) was carried out on board. The SPE cartridges were wrapped in 
aluminium foil and kept in the refrigerator until elution at the land-based 
laboratory.Sediment samples were taken using a box corer; the upper 2 cm was 
transferred to an aluminium box by means of a metal spatula and frozen at -20 °C. It 
was kept at that temperature in a freezer until analysis. Insulated containers equipped 
with frigistors were used to transport the samples from the ship to the institute