Renate Degen
Antje Boetius
Thomas Brey
Andrey Vedenin
Manuela Gusky
Published: Aug. 26, 2015
Little is known about the distribution and dynamics of macrobenthic communities of the deep Arctic Ocean. The few previous studies report low standing stocks and confirm a gradient with declining biomass from the slopes down to the basins, as commonly reported for deep-sea benthos. In this study, we investigated regional differences of faunal abundance and biomass, and made for the first time ever estimates of deep Arctic community production by using a multi-parameter artificial neural network model. The underlying data set combines data from recent field studies with published and unpublished data from the past 20 years, to analyse the …
Intae Kim
Guebuem Kim
Eun Jung Choy
Published: May 7, 2015
To evaluate the impact of modern glacier melting on the chemical enrichment of Antarctic coastal waters, we measured trace elements, including dissolved iron (Fe) and rare earth elements (REEs), together with dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorous, silicate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in ice, snow and coastal seawater of Marian Cove in the northernmost part of Antarctica (62°S). There was an increase in the concentrations of Fe and other trace elements (Al, Mn, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb and REEs) between the bay mouth and the glacier valleys. Good correlations between salinity and these chemical elements indicate that the trend was mainly …
Jordan K. Matley
Terry A. Dick
Aaron T. Fisk
Published: May 18, 2015
Stomach content and stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N from liver and muscle) were used to identify habitat and seasonal prey selection by ringed seals (Pusa hispida; n=21), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas; n=13) and narwhals (Monodon monoceros; n=3) in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) was the main prey item of all three species. Diet reconstruction from otoliths and stable isotope analysis revealed that while ringed seal size influenced prey selection patterns, it was variable. Prey-size selection and on-site observations found that ringed seals foraged on smaller, non-schooling cod whereas belugas and narwhals consumed larger individuals in schools. …
Caixin Wang
Bin Cheng
Keguang Wang
Sebastian Gerland
Olga Pavlova
Published: Aug. 24, 2015
Snow ice and superimposed ice formation on landfast sea ice in a Svalbard fjord, Kongsfjorden, was investigated with a high-resolution thermodynamic snow and sea-ice model, applying meteorological weather station data as external forcing. The model shows that sea-ice formation occurs both at the ice bottom and at the snow/ice interface. Modelling results indicated that the total snow ice and superimposed ice, which formed at the snow/ice interface, was about 14 cm during the simulation period, accounting for about 15% of the total ice mass and 35% of the total ice growth. Introducing a time-dependent snow density improved the modelled results, …
Mark Maftei
Shanti E. Davis
Mark L. Mallory
Published: April 7, 2015
The Queens Channel region of Nunavut is an ecologically distinct area within the Canadian High Arctic consisting of an extensive archipelago of small, low-lying gravel islands throughout which form several localized but highly productive polynyas. We used aerial survey and colony-monitoring data to assess regional- and colony-level fluctuations in the number of birds in this region between 2002 and 2013. Regional and colony-specific monitoring suggested that common eider (Somateria mollissima) numbers are increasing, while numbers of Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) may be in decline. Based on these data, we suggest that even infrequent comprehensive surveys are more useful than annual …
Liyanarachchi Waruna Arampath De Silva
Hajime Yamaguchi
Jun Ono
Published: Nov. 23, 2015
With the recent rapid decrease in summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean extending the navigation period in the Arctic sea routes (ASR), the precise prediction of ice distribution is crucial for safe and efficient navigation in the Arctic Ocean. In general, however, most of the available numerical models have exhibited significant uncertainties in short-term and narrow-area predictions, especially in marginal ice zones such as the ASR. In this study, we predict short-term sea-ice conditions in the ASR by using a mesoscale eddy-resolving ice–ocean coupled model that explicitly treats ice floe collisions in marginal ice zones. First, numerical issues associated …
Katarzyna Kozak
Krystyna Kozioł
Bartłomiej Luks
Stanisław Chmiel
Marek Ruman
Mariusz Marć
Jacek Namieśnik
Żaneta Polkowska
Published: Nov. 23, 2015
Although the Svalbard Archipelago is located at a high latitude, far from potential contaminant sources, it is not free from anthropogenic impact. Towards the Fuglebekken catchment, in the southern part of Spitsbergen, north of Hornsund fjord, contaminants can be transported from mainland pollution sources. In the precipitation and surface water collected in the catchment, the following elements were detected and quantified: Ag, Al, As, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Cs, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn. Additionally, pH, electrical conductivity and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined in those samples. The acidic …
Paula Casanovas
Martin Black
Peter Fretwell
Peter Convey
Published: Dec. 26, 2015
On the Antarctic Peninsula, lichens are the most diverse botanical component of the terrestrial ecosystem. However, detailed information on the distribution of lichens on the Antarctic Peninsula region is scarce, and the data available exhibit significant heterogeneity in sampling frequency and effort. Satellite remote sensing, in particular the use of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), has facilitated determination of vegetation richness and cover distribution in some remote and otherwise inaccessible environments. However, it is known that using NDVI for the detection of vegetation can overlook the presence of lichens even if their land cover is extensive. We tested the …
Torben Koenigk
Peter Berg
Ralf Döscher
Published: March 9, 2015
Fifth phase Climate Model Intercomparison Project historical and scenario simulations from four global climate models (GCMs) using the Representative Concentration Pathways greenhouse gas concentration trajectories RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 are downscaled over the Arctic with the regional Rossby Centre Atmosphere model (RCA). The regional model simulations largely reflect the circulation bias patterns of the driving global models in the historical period, indicating the importance of lateral and lower boundary conditions. However, local differences occur as a reduced winter 2-m air temperature bias over the Arctic Ocean and increased cold biases over land areas in RCA. The projected changes are dominated by …
Marius O. Jonassen
Andreas Scholtz
Timo Vihma
Astrid Lampert
Gert König-Langlo
Christof Lüpkes
Priit Tisler
Barbara Altstädter
Published: Oct. 8, 2015
The main aim of this paper is to explore the potential of combining measurements from fixed- and rotary-wing remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to complement data sets from radio soundings as well as ship and sea-ice-based instrumentation for atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) profiling. This study represents a proof-of-concept of RPAS observations in the Antarctic sea-ice zone. We present first results from the RV Polarstern Antarctic winter expedition in the Weddell Sea in June–August 2013, during which three RPAS were operated to measure temperature, humidity and wind; a fixed-wing small unmanned meteorological observer (SUMO), a fixed-wing meteorological mini-aerial vehicle, and an …