Clay mineralogy of late Cenozoic sediments in the CESAR cores, Alpha Ridge, central Arctic Ocean

1987 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1562-1569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Dalrymple ◽  
Oliver C. Maass
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Clay Mineralogy ◽  
Potassium Feldspar ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Glacial Ice ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Cenozoic Sediments

The clay-sized (< 2 μm) fraction of the silty and arenaceous lutites constituting CESAR cores 14 and 103 (Alpha Ridge, central Arctic Ocean) is composed predominantly of mica (40–60%), with subequal percentages (10–20%) of kaolinite and chlorite and lesser amounts (< 5%) of smectite, quartz, plagioclase, and potassium feldspar. Calcite and dolomite also occur, but only intermittently in the upper 1.2 m; dissolution is probably responsible for their absence in other units. The silty lutites have a constant mineralogy throughout the 4.5 m long (~ 4.25 Ma) section, whereas some of the arenaceous intervals in the upper 2.1 m have markedly higher amounts of kaolinite, calcite, dolomite, and, to a lesser extent, smectite. The silty lutites were most likely derived from the Beaufort Sea shelf during nonglacial periods, whereas the distinctive components in the sandy layers suggest that they were transported from the Canadian Arctic Islands and Greenland by glacial ice. The absence of kaolinite peaks in the lower half of the core implies that the western Arctic Islands were not glaciated prior to 2.1 Ma, a conclusion supporting previous findings that the climate of the Arctic was warmer in the Pliocene.

scholarly journals Arctic Ocean stratification set by sea level and freshwater inputs since the last ice age

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse R. Farmer ◽  
Daniel M. Sigman ◽  
Julie Granger ◽  
Ona M. Underwood ◽  
François Fripiat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Bering Strait ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Phytoplankton Productivity ◽  
Nitrate Consumption ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Last Ice Age

AbstractSalinity-driven density stratification of the upper Arctic Ocean isolates sea-ice cover and cold, nutrient-poor surface waters from underlying warmer, nutrient-rich waters. Recently, stratification has strengthened in the western Arctic but has weakened in the eastern Arctic; it is unknown if these trends will continue. Here we present foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes from Arctic Ocean sediments since 35,000 years ago to reconstruct past changes in nutrient sources and the degree of nutrient consumption in surface waters, the latter reflecting stratification. During the last ice age and early deglaciation, the Arctic was dominated by Atlantic-sourced nitrate and incomplete nitrate consumption, indicating weaker stratification. Starting at 11,000 years ago in the western Arctic, there is a clear isotopic signal of Pacific-sourced nitrate and complete nitrate consumption associated with the flooding of the Bering Strait. These changes reveal that the strong stratification of the western Arctic relies on low-salinity inflow through the Bering Strait. In the central Arctic, nitrate consumption was complete during the early Holocene, then declined after 5,000 years ago as summer insolation decreased. This sequence suggests that precipitation and riverine freshwater fluxes control the stratification of the central Arctic Ocean. Based on these findings, ongoing warming will cause strong stratification to expand into the central Arctic, slowing the nutrient supply to surface waters and thus limiting future phytoplankton productivity.

Zooplankton from the Arctic Ocean and Adjacent Canadian Waters

1965 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 543-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Grainger
Keyword(s):  
Surface Layer ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
As Species ◽  
Calanus Glacialis ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Zooplankton collections from the Arctic Ocean, the Beaufort Sea, and northwestern Canadian coastal waters are described, along with physical characteristics of the waters sampled. About 50 species are included.The collections are compared with records from the central Arctic Ocean and other waters adjacent to the present region. The species are shown to fall into three groups. One is characteristic of the surface water of the Arctic Ocean, one of the Atlantic water and to a lesser extent the deep layer of the surface water of the Arctic Ocean, and one of the shallow peripheral seas of the Arctic Ocean.The surface water group includes eight species which account for more than 95% of the copepod individuals found in the surface layer, and which appear to be the only copepods which breed in the surface layer of the central Arctic Ocean. The same species are the major constituents of the zooplankton found in the waters of the Canadian arctic, from the Arctic Ocean to Davis Strait. The deeper Atlantic species of the Arctic Ocean, more numerous as species but far less numerous as individuals than those of the surface water, occur only very rarely in the surface layers, show no evidence of breeding there, and appear to be almost entirely absent from Canadian archipelago waters inside the shelf. Clear continuity of the Arctic Ocean surface fauna through the waters of the Canadian arctic is shown, along with the almost total exclusion from archipelago waters of the deeper Atlantic fauna. This intrusion of Atlantic species into the waters of arctic Canada appears to be almost entirely restricted to the southeast part of the region, especially Hudson Strait and adjacent waters.Development rates of two copepods in the Arctic Ocean, Microcalanus pygmaeus and Calanus glacialis, are discussed.

scholarly journals N2O dynamics in the western Arctic Ocean during the summer of 2017

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jang-Mu Heo ◽  
Seong-Su Kim ◽  
Sung-Ho Kang ◽  
Eun Jin Yang ◽  
Ki-Tae Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Chukchi Sea ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Western Arctic Ocean ◽  
Deep Layers ◽  
Western Arctic

AbstractThe western Arctic Ocean (WAO) has experienced increased heat transport into the region, sea-ice reduction, and changes to the WAO nitrous oxide (N2O) cycles from greenhouse gases. We investigated WAO N2O dynamics through an intensive and precise N2O survey during the open-water season of summer 2017. The effects of physical processes (i.e., solubility and advection) were dominant in both the surface (0–50 m) and deep layers (200–2200 m) of the northern Chukchi Sea with an under-saturation of N2O. By contrast, both the surface layer (0–50 m) of the southern Chukchi Sea and the intermediate (50–200 m) layer of the northern Chukchi Sea were significantly influenced by biogeochemically derived N2O production (i.e., through nitrification), with N2O over-saturation. During summer 2017, the southern region acted as a source of atmospheric N2O (mean: + 2.3 ± 2.7 μmol N2O m−2 day−1), whereas the northern region acted as a sink (mean − 1.3 ± 1.5 μmol N2O m−2 day−1). If Arctic environmental changes continue to accelerate and consequently drive the productivity of the Arctic Ocean, the WAO may become a N2O “hot spot”, and therefore, a key region requiring continued observations to both understand N2O dynamics and possibly predict their future changes.

scholarly journals Regional variability of acidification in the Arctic: a sea of contrasts

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. Popova ◽  
A. Yool ◽  
Y. Aksenov ◽  
A. C. Coward ◽  
T. R. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Regional Variability ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The Arctic Ocean is a region that is particularly vulnerable to the impact of ocean acidification driven by rising atmospheric CO2, with potentially negative consequences for calcifying organisms such as coccolithophorids and foraminiferans. In this study, we use an ocean-only general circulation model, with embedded biogeochemistry and a comprehensive description of the ocean carbon cycle, to study the response of pH and saturation states of calcite and aragonite to rising atmospheric pCO2 and changing climate in the Arctic Ocean. Particular attention is paid to the strong regional variability within the Arctic, and, for comparison, simulation results are contrasted with those for the global ocean. Simulations were run to year 2099 using the RCP8.5 (an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) scenario with the highest concentrations of atmospheric CO2). The separate impacts of the direct increase in atmospheric CO2 and indirect effects via impact of climate change (changing temperature, stratification, primary production and freshwater fluxes) were examined by undertaking two simulations, one with the full system and the other in which atmospheric CO2 was prevented from increasing beyond its preindustrial level (year 1860). Results indicate that the impact of climate change, and spatial heterogeneity thereof, plays a strong role in the declines in pH and carbonate saturation (Ω) seen in the Arctic. The central Arctic, Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Baffin Bay show greatest rates of acidification and Ω decline as a result of melting sea ice. In contrast, areas affected by Atlantic inflow including the Greenland Sea and outer shelves of the Barents, Kara and Laptev seas, had minimal decreases in pH and Ω because diminishing ice cover led to greater vertical mixing and primary production. As a consequence, the projected onset of undersaturation in respect to aragonite is highly variable regionally within the Arctic, occurring during the decade of 2000–2010 in the Siberian shelves and Canadian Arctic Archipelago, but as late as the 2080s in the Barents and Norwegian seas. We conclude that, for future projections of acidification and carbonate saturation state in the Arctic, regional variability is significant and needs to be adequately resolved, with particular emphasis on reliable projections of the rates of retreat of the sea ice, which are a major source of uncertainty.

Arctic Ocean State-Changes: Self Interests and Common Interests

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 511-525
Author(s):  
Paul Arthur Berkman
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
International Governance ◽  
State Change ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Free Region ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
State Changes

Abstract Environmental and geopolitical state-changes are the underlying first principles of the diverse stakeholder positioning in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean is changing from an ice-covered region to an ice-free region during the summer, which is an environmental state-change. As provided under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the central Arctic Ocean currently involves “High-Seas” (beyond the “Exclusive Economic Zones”) and the underlying “Area” of the deep-sea floor (beyond the “Continental Shelves”). Governance applications of this ‘donut’ demography – with international space surrounded by sovereign sectors – would be a geopolitical state-change in the Arctic Ocean. International governance strategies and applications for the central Arctic Ocean have far-reaching implications for the stewardship of other international spaces, which between Antarctica and the ocean beyond national jurisdictions account for nearly 75 percent of the Earth’s surface. In view of planetary-scale strategies for humankind, with frameworks such as climate, the Arctic Ocean underscores the challenges and opportunities to balance the governance of nation states and international spaces centuries into the future.

scholarly journals Field-obtained carbon and nitrogen uptake rates of phytoplankton in the Laptev and East Siberian seas

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Heon Lee ◽  
Jang Han Lee ◽  
Howon Lee ◽  
Jae Joong Kang ◽  
Jae Hyung Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Nitrogen Uptake ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Uptake Rates ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
System Program

Abstract. The Laptev and East Siberian seas are the least biologically studied region in the Arctic Ocean, although they are highly dynamic in terms of active processing of organic matter impacting the transport to the deep Arctic Ocean. Field-measured carbon and nitrogen uptake rates of phytoplankton were conducted in the Laptev and East Siberian seas as part of the NABOS (Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System) program. Major inorganic nutrients were mostly depleted at 100–50 % light depths but were not depleted within the euphotic depths in the Laptev and East Siberian seas. The water column-integrated chl-a concentration in this study was significantly higher than that in the western Arctic Ocean (t-test, p > 0.01). Unexpectedly, the daily carbon and nitrogen uptake rates in this study (average ± S.D. = 110.3 ± 88.3 mg C m−2 d−1 and 37.0 ± 25.8 mg N m−2 d−1, respectively) are within previously reported ranges. Surprisingly, the annual primary production (13.2 g C m−2) measured in the field during the vegetative season is approximately one order of magnitude lower than the primary production reported from a satellite–based estimation. Further validation using field-measured observations is necessary for a better projection of the ecosystem in the Laptev and East Siberian seas responding to ongoing climate change.

Testing the synchronicity of Pleistocene biostratigraphic events in the central Arctic – Do we have a consistent biostratigraphic framework?  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flor Vermassen ◽  
Helen K. Coxall ◽  
Gabriel West ◽  
Matt O'Regan
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Age Determination ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Calcareous Nannofossils ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Eurasian Basin ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Amerasian Basin

&lt;p&gt;Harsh environmental and taphonomic conditions in the central Arctic Ocean make age-modelling for Quaternary palaeoclimate reconstructions challenging. Pleistocene age models in the Arctic have relied heavily on cyclostratigraphy using lithologic variability tied to relatively poorly calibrated foraminifera biostratigraphic events. Recently, the identification of &lt;em&gt;Pseudoemiliania lacunosa&lt;/em&gt; in a sediment core from the Lomonosov Ridge, a coccolithophore that went extinct during marine isotope stage (MIS) 12 (478-424 ka), has been used to delineate glacial-interglacial units back to MIS 14 (~500 ka BP). Here we present a comparative study on how this nannofossil biostratigraphy fits with existing foraminifer biohorizons that are recognised in central Arctic Ocean sediments. A new core from the Alpha Ridge is presented, together with its lithologic variability and down-core compositional changes in planktonic and benthic foraminifera. The core exhibits an interval dominated by &lt;em&gt;Turborotalita egelida&lt;/em&gt;, a planktonic foraminifer that is increasingly being adopted as a marker for MIS11 in sediment cores from the Amerasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. We show that the new age-constraints provided by calcareous nannofossils are difficult to reconcile with the proposed MIS 11 age for the &lt;em&gt;T. egelida&lt;/em&gt; horizon. Instead, the emerging litho- and coccolith biostratigraphy implies that Amerasian Basin sediments predating MIS5 are older than the egelida-based age models suggest, i.e. that the &lt;em&gt;T. egelida&lt;/em&gt; Zone is older than MIS11. These results expose uncertainties regarding the age determination of glacial-interglacial cycles in the Amerasian basin and point out that future work is required to reconcile the micro- and nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Amerasian and Eurasian basin.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Climate change and the Arctic hydrologic cycle as calculated by a global coupled atmosphere–ocean model

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 91-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Miller ◽  
Gary L. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Hydrologic Cycle ◽  
Transient Simulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Glacial Ice ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

A global coupled atmosphere–ocean model is used to examine the hydrologic cycle of the Arctic Ocean. The model has a horizontal resolution of 4° × 5°, nine vertical layers in the atmosphere and 13 in the ocean. River discharge into the Arctic Ocean is included by allowing runoff from each continental grid box to flow downstream according to a specified direction file and a speed that depends on topography. A 74 year control simulation of the present climate is used to examine variability of the hydrologic cycle, including precipitation, sea ice, glacial ice and river discharge. A 74 year transient simulation in which atmospheric CO2increases each year at a compound rate оf 1% is then used to examine potential changes in the hydrologic cycle. Among these changes are a 4°C increase in mean annual surface air temperature in the Arctic Ocean, a decrease in ice cover which begins after 35 years, and increases in river discharge and cloud cover. There is little change in the net difference between precipitation and evaporation. Also in the transient simulation, glacial ice on Greenland decreases relative to the control.

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