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Mean temperature and relative humidity (RH) were monitored over a 12-month period in three different dry storage rooms in the Paljakka Environmental Specimen Bank, Finland. Although the storage rooms follow the Archives Law in Finland and The National Building Code of Finland, temperature and RH fluctuations inside the rooms were high. However, our study showed that preservation conditions can be improved without expensive heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Temperature and RH fluctuations can be stabilized, e.g., by ensuring adequate air circulation and ventilation inside the storage rooms and by packing sample materials in porous archive boxes to buffer temperature and RH fluctuations. Seasonally adjusted temperature and RH values are recommended in northern latitudes, where fluctuations in storage conditions are typically high. Within seasonally adjusted values, maximum allowable 24-hour fluctuations are recommended in order to avoid rapid short-term changes. Our study sh...

Nation-wide surveys of the accumulation of 10 heavy metals in mosses were carried out in Finland in 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000. Separate investigations were carried out, on the basis of these surveys, into the atmospheric deposition of Hg, Cd, and Pb beyond the Arctic Circle in northern Finland. These metals are readily distributed in the form of long-range transboundary pollution, and particular concern has been raised about the transport and accumulation of these metals into Arctic areas. The Hg, Cd, and Pb concentrations in mosses in northern Finland were low. There was a clear decrease in Cd and Pb concentrations during the period 1985–2000. The Pb concentration decreased, on the average, from 8 to 2 μg g−1, and the Cd concentration from 0.3 to 0.1 μg g−1. Hg concentrations, which were analyzed in 1995 and 2000, decreased only slightly from 0.037 to 0.031 μg g−1. The slight decrease in Hg concentrations in northern Finland appears to reflect the decreasing Hg emissions and the high mobility o...