Effect of vegetation on limestone solution in a small High Arctic basin

1977 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Ko Woo ◽  
Philip Marsh

To evaluate the effect of tundra vegetation on limestone solution processes, the present study was carried out in a small basin in southwestern Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. A test reach was selected along the stream, and water samples were collected at regular intervals from a seepage point entering the reach, a soil water pit at the bottom of a vegetated slope along the test reach, and from the stream at the outlet of the reach. Hydrochemical characteristics of the samples were described by several measured and calculated variables including water temperature, pH, calcium and total hardness, bicarbonate concentration, equilibrium partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and indices of saturation with respect to calcite and dolomite. Throughout the growing season of 1975, all samples indicated higher concentrations in water hardness and in bicarbonate than those reported in nonvegetated areas of the Arctic. A rising trend was apparent in these data, with the concentrations reaching a seasonal maximum in late summer. These phenomena are attributed to the production of biogenic carbon dioxide, which increased the aggressiveness of the water. The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in soil water was directly increased by this process, while the addition of soil water to the stream caused noticeable downstream increase in partial pressure of carbon dioxide and a corresponding reduction in saturation with respect to calcite and to dolomite. The influence of vegetation was therefore very marked in both surface and in subsurface flows.

1987 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 200-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Scharfen ◽  
R.G. Barry ◽  
D.A. Robinson ◽  
G. Kukla ◽  
M.C Serreze

The seasonal progression of snow melt on the Arctic pack ice is mapped from satellite shortwave imagery (0.4–1.1 micrometers) for four spring/summer seasons (1977, 1979, 1984 and 1985). This provides the first detailed information on the temporal change of the ice surface albedo in summer and of its year-to-year variability. The average surface albedo of the Arctic Basin for the years investigated falls from between 0.75 and 0.80 in early May to between 0.35 and 0.45 in late July and early August. In the central Arctic, where ice concentration remains high and ponding on the ice is limited, the July albedo ranges from 0.50 to 0.60. Overall, melt progresses poleward from the Kara and Barents Seas and from the southern Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, with the melt fronts meeting on the American side of the Pole. There are substantial year-to-year differences in the timing, duration and extent of the melt interval. The progression of melt in May and June of the earliest melt year (1977) was about 3 weeks ahead of the latest year (1979). By late July, the central Arctic was essentially snow free in 1977 and 1979, but more than 50% snow covered in 1984. Although limited in extent, our data base suggests relationships between snow melt and Arctic surface air temperatures in spring, spring cloudiness and the extent of late summer ice.


1987 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 200-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Scharfen ◽  
R.G. Barry ◽  
D.A. Robinson ◽  
G. Kukla ◽  
M.C Serreze

The seasonal progression of snow melt on the Arctic pack ice is mapped from satellite shortwave imagery (0.4–1.1 micrometers) for four spring/summer seasons (1977, 1979, 1984 and 1985). This provides the first detailed information on the temporal change of the ice surface albedo in summer and of its year-to-year variability. The average surface albedo of the Arctic Basin for the years investigated falls from between 0.75 and 0.80 in early May to between 0.35 and 0.45 in late July and early August. In the central Arctic, where ice concentration remains high and ponding on the ice is limited, the July albedo ranges from 0.50 to 0.60. Overall, melt progresses poleward from the Kara and Barents Seas and from the southern Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, with the melt fronts meeting on the American side of the Pole. There are substantial year-to-year differences in the timing, duration and extent of the melt interval. The progression of melt in May and June of the earliest melt year (1977) was about 3 weeks ahead of the latest year (1979). By late July, the central Arctic was essentially snow free in 1977 and 1979, but more than 50% snow covered in 1984. Although limited in extent, our data base suggests relationships between snow melt and Arctic surface air temperatures in spring, spring cloudiness and the extent of late summer ice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 856 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Thamrongsin Siripongsakul ◽  
Panya Wiman ◽  
Phichai Saranyachot ◽  
Somrerk Chandra-Ambhorn

To facilitate the assessment of the oxide stability in H2-H2O or CO-CO2 atmospheres, auxiliary axes are constructed in the Ellingham diagram. Based on A. Ghosh’s approach, the geometrical interpretation of the diagram is proposed for the reaction 2X + O2 = 2Y, where X and Y could be originated from H2 and H2O or CO and CO2. Two cases are considered when oxygen partial pressures are lower and higher than one bar. By a geometrical method, it is proved that with an appropriate set-up of values relating to the auxiliary axes, the axes representing the ratio between the equilibrium partial pressure of hydrogen and that of water vapour, as well as the ratio between the equilibrium partial pressure of carbon monoxide and that of carbon dioxide, can be constructed. The geometrical method on the construction of axes using thermodynamic derivation is explained in the paper.


Author(s):  
Larisa A. Pautova ◽  
Vladimir A. Silkin ◽  
Marina D. Kravchishina ◽  
Valeriy G. Yakubenko ◽  
Anna L. Chultsova

The structure of the summer planktonic communities of the Northern part of the Barents sea in the first half of August 2017 were studied. In the sea-ice melting area, the average phytoplankton biomass producing upper 50-meter layer of water reached values levels of eutrophic waters (up to 2.1 g/m3). Phytoplankton was presented by diatoms of the genera Thalassiosira and Eucampia. Maximum biomass recorded at depths of 22–52 m, the absolute maximum biomass community (5,0 g/m3) marked on the horizon of 45 m (station 5558), located at the outlet of the deep trench Franz Victoria near the West coast of the archipelago Franz Josef Land. In ice-free waters, phytoplankton abundance was low, and the weighted average biomass (8.0 mg/m3 – 123.1 mg/m3) corresponded to oligotrophic waters and lower mesotrophic waters. In the upper layers of the water population abundance was dominated by small flagellates and picoplankton from, biomass – Arctic dinoflagellates (Gymnodinium spp.) and cold Atlantic complexes (Gyrodinium lachryma, Alexandrium tamarense, Dinophysis norvegica). The proportion of Atlantic species in phytoplankton reached 75%. The representatives of warm-water Atlantic complex (Emiliania huxleyi, Rhizosolenia hebetata f. semispina, Ceratium horridum) were recorded up to 80º N, as indicators of the penetration of warm Atlantic waters into the Arctic basin. The presence of oceanic Atlantic species as warm-water and cold systems in the high Arctic indicates the strengthening of processes of “atlantificacion” in the region.


1969 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 67-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Nørgaard-Pedersen ◽  
Sofia Ribeiro ◽  
Naja Mikkelsen ◽  
Audrey Limoges ◽  
Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz

The marine record of the Independence–Danmark fjord system extending out to the Wandel Hav in eastern North Greenland (Fig. 1A) is little known due to the almost perennial sea-ice cover, which makes the region inaccessible for research vessels (Nørgaard-Pedersen et al. 2008), and only a few depth measurements have been conducted in the area. In 2015, the Villum Research Station, a new logistic base for scientific investigations, was opened at Station Nord. In contrast to the early exploration of the region, it is now possible to observe and track the seasonal character and changes of ice in the fjord system and the Arctic Ocean through remote sensing by satellite radar systems. Satellite data going back to the early 1980s show that the outer part of the Independence–Danmark fjord system is characterised by perennial sea ice whereas both the southern part of the fjord system and an area 20–30 km west of Station Nord are partly ice free during late summer (Fig. 1B). Hence, marine-orientated field work can be conducted from the sea ice using snow mobiles, and by drilling through the ice to reach the underlying water and sea bottom.


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