The Impact of Permafrost Disturbances and Sediment Loading on the Limnological Characteristics of Two High Arctic Lakes

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary A. Dugan ◽  
Scott F. Lamoureux ◽  
Ted Lewis ◽  
Melissa J. Lafrenière
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Lakes ◽  
Sediment Loading ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Assessing the utility of sulfur isotope values for understanding mercury concentrations in water and biota from high Arctic lakes

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen L. Lescord ◽  
Meredith G. Clayden ◽  
Karen A. Kidd ◽  
Jane L. Kirk ◽  
Xiaowa Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Webs ◽  
Total Mercury ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Sulfur Isotopes ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Lakes ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Resolute Bay ◽  
Aquatic Food ◽  
Globally Stable

Methylmercury (MeHg) biomagnifies through aquatic food webs resulting in elevated concentrations in fish globally. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes are frequently used to determine dietary sources of MeHg and to model its biomagnification. However, given the strong links between MeHg and sulfur cycling, we investigated whether sulfur isotopes (δ34S) would improve our understanding of MeHg concentrations ([MeHg]) in Arctic lacustrine food webs. Delta34S values and total mercury (THg) or MeHg were measured in water, sediments, and biota from six lakes near Resolute Bay, NU, Canada. In two lakes impacted by historical eutrophication, aqueous sulfate δ34S was ∼8‰ more positive than sedimentary δ34S, suggestive of bacterial sulfate reduction in the sediment. In addition, aqueous δ34S showed a significant positive relationship with aqueous [MeHg] across lakes. Within taxa across lakes, [THg] in Arctic char muscle and [MeHg] in their main prey, chironomids, were positively related to their δ34S values across lakes, but inconsistent relationships were found across entire food webs among lakes. Across lakes, nitrogen isotopes were better predictors of biotic [THg] and [MeHg] than δ34S within this dataset. Our results suggest some linkages between Hg and S biogeochemistry in high Arctic lakes, which is an important consideration given anticipated climate-mediated changes in nutrient cycling.

scholarly journals Climate and permafrost effects on the chemistry and ecosystems of High Arctic Lakes

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Roberts ◽  
S. F. Lamoureux ◽  
T. K. Kyser ◽  
D. C. G. Muir ◽  
M. J. Lafrenière ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Lakes

scholarly journals The Rossby radius in the Arctic Ocean

Ocean Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. G. Nurser ◽  
S. Bacon
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Hudson Bay ◽  
Ocean Eddies ◽  
Shelf Seas ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The first (and second) baroclinic deformation (or Rossby) radii are presented north of ~60° N, focusing on deep basins and shelf seas in the high Arctic Ocean, the Nordic seas, Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, derived from climatological ocean data. In the high Arctic Ocean, the first Rossby radius increases from ~5 km in the Nansen Basin to ~15 km in the central Canadian Basin. In the shelf seas and elsewhere, values are low (1–7 km), reflecting weak density stratification, shallow water, or both. Seasonality strongly impacts the Rossby radius only in shallow seas, where winter homogenization of the water column can reduce it to below 1 km. Greater detail is seen in the output from an ice–ocean general circulation model, of higher resolution than the climatology. To assess the impact of secular variability, 10 years (2003–2012) of hydrographic stations along 150° W in the Beaufort Gyre are also analysed. The first-mode Rossby radius increases over this period by ~20%. Finally, we review the observed scales of Arctic Ocean eddies.

Chrysophycean stomatocysts from the postglacial sediments of a High Arctic lake

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1117-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine E. Duff ◽  
John P. Smol
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Light Microscopy ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Ellesmere Island ◽  
Arctic Lakes ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Stratigraphic Analysis ◽  
Morphological Detail ◽  
Electron And Light Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron

Twenty-six chrysophycean stomatocyst morphotypes were described from the postglacial sediments of a small, rock basin lake near Baird Inlet, Ellesmere Island. Scanning electron and light microscopy were used to classify the stomatocysts, following the guidelines of the International Statospore Working Group. None of the stomatocysts could be related with certainty to the chrysophyte species that produced them, but sufficient morphological detail is present in most of the stomatocysts to allow for taxonomic differentiation. A stratigraphic analysis of the dominant stomatocyst morphotypes revealed that chrysophyte species composition changed most markedly during the lake's early development but then remained relatively constant. This study demonstrated that chrysophycean stomatocysts provide useful paleoecological information in High Arctic lakes, but further taxonomic and ecological research is required to fully exploit these microfossils.

scholarly journals Towards assessing the influence of sediment loading on Last Interglacial sea level

2019 ◽  
Vol 220 (1) ◽  
pp. 384-392
Author(s):  
T Pico
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Tectonic Uplift ◽  
Sediment Loading ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Isostatic Adjustment ◽  
Uplift Rates ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Last Glacial

SUMMARY Locally, the elevation of last interglacial (LIG; ∼122 ka) sea level markers is modulated by processes of vertical displacement, such as tectonic uplift or glacial isostatic adjustment, and these processes must be accounted for in deriving estimates of global ice volumes from geological sea level records. The impact of sediment loading on LIG sea level markers is generally not accounted for in these corrections, as it is assumed that the impact is negligible except in extremely high depositional settings, such as the world's largest river deltas. Here we perform a generalized test to assess the extent to which sediment loading may impact global variability in the present-day elevation of LIG sea level markers. We numerically simulate river sediment deposition using a diffusive model that incorporates a migrating shoreline to construct a global history of sedimentation over the last glacial cycle. We then calculate sea level changes due to this sediment loading using a gravitationally self-consistent model of glacial isostatic adjustment, and compare these predictions to a global compilation of LIG sea level data. We perform a statistical analysis, which accounts for spatial autocorrelation, across a global compilation of 1287 LIG sea level markers. Though limited by uncertainties in the LIG sea level database and the precise history of river deposition, this analysis suggests there is not a statistically significant global signal of sediment loading in LIG sea level markers. Nevertheless, at sites where LIG sea level markers have been measured, local sea level predicted using our simulated sediment loading history is perturbed up to 16 m. More generally, these predictions establish the relative sensitivity of different regions to sediment loading. Finally, we consider the implications of our results for estimates of tectonic uplift rates derived from LIG marine terraces; we predict that sediment loading causes 5–10 m of subsidence over the last glacial cycle at specific locations along active margin regions such as California and Barbados, where deriving long-term tectonic uplift rates from LIG shorelines is a common practice.

scholarly journals Active layer slope disturbances affect seasonality and composition of dissolved nitrogen export from High Arctic headwater catchments

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa J. Lafrenière ◽  
Nicole L. Louiseize ◽  
Scott F. Lamoureux
Keyword(s):  
Active Layer ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Headwater Catchments ◽  
Dissolved Nitrogen ◽  
Total Dissolved Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrate Export ◽  
Limiting Nutrient ◽  
Seasonal Discharge ◽  
The Impact

This study investigates the impacts of active layer detachments (ALDs) on nitrogen in seasonal runoff from High Arctic hillslope catchments. We examined dissolved nitrogen in runoff from an undisturbed catchment (Goose (GS)) and one that was disturbed (Ptarmigan (PT)) by ALDs, prior to disturbance (2007) and 5 years after disturbance (2012). The seasonal dynamics of nitrogen species concentrations and fluxes were similar in both catchments in 2007, but the mean seasonal nitrate concentration and mass flux from the disturbed catchment were on the order of 30 times higher relative to the undisturbed catchment in 2012. Stormflow yielded 45% and 60% of the 2012 total dissolved nitrogen flux in GS and PT, respectively, although rainfall runoff provided less than 25% of seasonal discharge. Results support that through the combined effects of increased disturbance and rainfall, climate change stands to significantly enhance the export of nitrate from High Arctic watersheds. This study highlights that the increase in the delivery of nitrate from disturbance is especially pronounced late in the season when downstream productivity and the biological demand for this often limiting nutrient are high. Our results also demonstrate that the impact of ALDs on nitrate export can persist more than 5 years following disturbance.

Contaminant fate in high arctic lakes: development and application of a mass balance model

1997 ◽  
Vol 201 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Freitas ◽  
Miriam Diamond ◽  
Ray Semkin ◽  
Dennis Gregor
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Lakes ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Mass Balance Model ◽  
Contaminant Fate

Hypersaline Gradients in Two Canadian High Arctic Lakes

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 1795-1803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenton M. Stewart ◽  
Robert F. Platford
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Lakes ◽  
Canadian High Arctic ◽  
Salt Fingers ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Freeze Out

The meromictic Sophia and Garrow lakes are probably saline relicts of cutoff fjords on the uplifted Cornwallis and Little Cornwallis islands in the High Arctic of the Canadian Archipelago. Sophia and Garrow have brackish (S = 2–4) upper and hypersaline (S = 55–90) lower waters with ion ratios (especially the lower waters) similar to that of the sea. Substantial oxygen extends well below the chemocline in Sophia. The stability of these lakes is among the highest known. Because of their size, depth, and unusually warm lower waters, it seems likely that an unfrozen "thermal chimney" extends beneath the lakes through the surrounding permafrost. We feel that the hypersaline gradients evolved primarily by descent of "salt fingers" during freeze out from above, and not by solute rejection from the ground during uplift and permafrost growth, or through taliks connected to the sea, as proposed by Page et al. (1984. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29: 564–573).

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