Characteristics of the Arctic environment in the southern Beaufort Sea from Ice Exercise data

Abstract. The Mackenzie Shelf in the southeastern Beaufort Sea is a region that has experienced large changes in the past several decades as warming, sea-ice loss, and increased river discharge have altered carbon cycling. Upwelling and downwelling events are common on the shelf, caused by strong, fluctuating along-shore winds, resulting in cross-shelf Ekman transport, and an alternating estuarine and anti-estuarine circulation. Downwelling carries inorganic carbon and other remineralization products off the shelf and into the deep basin for possible long-term storage in the world oceans. Upwelling carries dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrient-rich waters from the Pacific-origin upper halocline layer (UHL) onto the shelf. Profiles of DIC and total alkalinity (TA) taken in August and September of 2014 are used to investigate the cycling of inorganic carbon on the Mackenzie Shelf. The along-shore transport of water and the cross-shelf transport of inorganic carbon are quantified using velocity field output from a simulation of the Arctic and Northern Hemisphere Atlantic (ANHA4) configuration of the Nucleus of European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) framework. A strong upwelling event prior to sampling on the Mackenzie Shelf is analyzed and the resulting influence on the carbonate system, including the saturation state of waters with respect to aragonite and pH, is investigated. TA and the oxygen isotope ratio of water (δ18O) are used to examine water-mass distributions in the study area and to investigate the influence of Pacific Water, Mackenzie River freshwater, and sea-ice melt on carbon dynamics and air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the surface mixed layer. Understanding carbon transfer in this seasonally dynamic environment is key to quantify the importance of Arctic shelf regions to the global carbon cycle and provide a basis for understanding how it will respond to the aforementioned climate-induced changes.

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Legal protection of the Arctic environment related tourism activity

NB Административное право и практика администрирования ◽

10.7256/2306-9945.2020.1.33261 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 9-23

Author(s):

Nikolai Kudelkin

Keyword(s):

Legal Protection ◽

Legal Regulation ◽

The Arctic ◽

Infrastructure Development ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Arctic Environment ◽

Cruise Tourism ◽

Tourism Activity

The Arctic continues to attract more and more tourists. In some of the Arctic regions, tourism in general and cruise tourism in particular is becoming one of the fastest growing economic sectors. However, aside from the economic benefit, the Arctic tourism poses a certain threat to the sensitive environment of the Arctic, which currently experiences constantly increasing pressure from economic activity and climate change. Major negative consequences of tourism activity include the pollution of territories and water zones, worry of animals, direct destruction of flora and fauna, loss of the places of habitat due to infrastructure development, etc. The listed facts underline relevance of the selected topic of research, as well as the need for legal protection of the Arctic environment from negative effects caused by tourism. Analysis is conducted on the current situation in the area of Arctic tourism, as well as the questions of Russia’s Arctic policy pertaining to tourism activity. A brief overview is provided to the international legal regulation in this sphere. The author concludes on the insufficiency of legal regulation in the area of Arctic tourism, and gives recommendations on the improvement of Russian legislation. It is noted that tourism is one of the few types of activities in the Arctic that sparks interests of multiple countries, and in which the acceptance of universal standards seems possible.

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Vertical distribution and ecological significance of chaetognaths in the Arctic environment of Baffin Bay

Polar Biology ◽

10.1007/bf00293222 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 317-328 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

D. D. Samemoto

Keyword(s):

Vertical Distribution ◽

The Arctic ◽

Ecological Significance ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

Arctic Environment

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A 50 % increase in the mass of terrestrial particles delivered by the Mackenzie River into the Beaufort Sea (Canadian Arctic Ocean) over the last 10 years

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-12-3551-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (11) ◽

pp. 3551-3565 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

D. Doxaran ◽

E. Devred ◽

M. Babin

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Arctic Ocean ◽

Suspended Solids ◽

Beaufort Sea ◽

Freshwater Discharge ◽

The Arctic ◽

Field Observations ◽

The Arctic Ocean ◽

Arctic Rivers ◽

Mackenzie River

Abstract. Global warming has a significant impact on the regional scale on the Arctic Ocean and surrounding coastal zones (i.e., Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia). The recent increase in air temperature has resulted in increased precipitation along the drainage basins of Arctic rivers. It has also directly impacted land and seawater temperatures with the consequence of melting permafrost and sea ice. An increase in freshwater discharge by main Arctic rivers has been clearly identified in time series of field observations. The freshwater discharge of the Mackenzie River has increased by 25% since 2003. This may have increased the mobilization and transport of various dissolved and particulate substances, including organic carbon, as well as their export to the ocean. The release from land to the ocean of such organic material, which has been sequestered in a frozen state since the Last Glacial Maximum, may significantly impact the Arctic Ocean carbon cycle as well as marine ecosystems. In this study we use 11 years of ocean color satellite data and field observations collected in 2009 to estimate the mass of terrestrial suspended solids and particulate organic carbon delivered by the Mackenzie River into the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean). Our results show that during the summer period, the concentration of suspended solids at the river mouth, in the delta zone and in the river plume has increased by 46, 71 and 33%, respectively, since 2003. Combined with the variations observed in the freshwater discharge, this corresponds to a more than 50% increase in the particulate (terrestrial suspended particles and organic carbon) export from the Mackenzie River into the Beaufort Sea.

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