scholarly journals Low Density of Top Predators (Seabirds and Marine Mammals) in the High Arctic Pack Ice

Scientifica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude R. Joiris ◽  
Karin Boos ◽  
Diederik D’Hert ◽  
Dominik A. Nachtsheim
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
Cetacean Species ◽  
Little Auk ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Fin Whale ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Pack Ice

The at-sea distribution of top predators, seabirds and marine mammals, was determined in the high Arctic pack ice on board the icebreaker RVPolarsternin July to September 2014. In total, 1,620 transect counts were realised, lasting 30 min each. The five most numerous seabird species represented 74% of the total of 15,150 individuals registered: kittiwakeRissa tridactyla, fulmarFulmarus glacialis, puffinFratercula arctica, Ross’s gullRhodostethia rosea, and little aukAlle alle. Eight cetacean species were tallied for a total of 330 individuals, mainly white-beaked dolphinLagenorhynchus albirostrisand fin whaleBalaenoptera physalus. Five pinniped species were represented by a total of 55 individuals and the polar bearUrsus maritimuswas represented by 12 individuals. Four main geographical zones were identified: from Tromsø to the outer marginal ice zone (OMIZ), the Arctic pack ice (close pack ice, CPI), the end of Lomonosov Ridge off Siberia, and the route off Siberia and northern Norway. Important differences were detected between zones, both in species composition and in individual abundance. Low numbers of species and high proportion of individuals for some of them can be considered to reflect very low biodiversity. Numbers encountered in zones 2 to 4 were very low in comparison with other European Arctic seas. The observed differences showed strong patterns.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Ice-Island Motion Near the Coast of Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic

1989 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 152-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.M. Sackinger ◽  
M.O. Jeffries ◽  
H. Tippens ◽  
F. Li ◽  
M. Lu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wind ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Canadian High Arctic ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Axel Heiberg Island ◽  
Ice Force

The largest ice island presently known to exist in the Arctic Ocean has a mass of about 700 × 106 tonnes, an area of about 26 km2, and a mean thickness of 42.5 m. Known as Hobson’s Ice Island, this large ice feature has been tracked almost continuously since August 1983 with a succession of Argos buoys. In this paper, two particular ice-island movement episodes near the north-west coast of Axel Heiberg Island are described: 6–16 May 1986 and 14–21 June 1986. Each movement episode is analyzed in terms of the forces acting on the ice island, including wind shear, water drag, water shear, Coriolis force, sea-surface tilt, and pack-ice force. Ice-island movement is generally preceded by an offshore surface wind, and a threshold wind speed of 6 m s°1 appears to be necessary to initiate ice-island motion. An angle of 50° between surface wind and ice-island movement direction is noted during one episode. The pack-ice force, which appears to be the dominant arresting factor of ice-island motion for these two episodes, varies from 100° to 180° to the left of the ice-island velocity direction, depending upon whether the ice island is accelerating or decelerating.

Chemical composition of summertime High Arctic aerosols using chemical ionization mass spectrometry

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Siegel ◽  
Paul Zieger ◽  
Matthew Salter ◽  
Ilona Riipinen ◽  
Annica M.L. Ekman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Chemical Ionization ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Formation Mechanisms ◽  
Ionization Mass ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Aerosol Chemical Composition

<p>Low-level clouds and fogs play a key role in the radiative balance over the Arctic pack ice by regulating surface energy fluxes. The radiative features of clouds are dependent on the amount of airborne aerosol particles and their properties, since the particles can act as CCN (cloud condensation nuclei) and INP (ice nucleating particles). As the Arctic climate is currently warming, the local emissions and formation mechanisms of aerosols are expected to change, possibly leading to altered cloud properties.</p><p>We measured aerosol chemical composition using FIGAERO-CIMS (Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer coupled to a Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols) analysis of samples collected during the MOCCHA campaign (Microbiology-Ocean-Cloud-Coupling in the High Arctic) close to the North Pole in 2018. The goal of the campaign was to investigate natural aerosol emissions from the ocean to the atmosphere during summertime in terms of local sources and potential contribution to cloud formation. The sampling period was therefore around the seasonal sea ice minimum in September. With our CIMS setup, the sample molecules are ionised by iodide ions (I<sup>-</sup>). The negatively charged adducts are then separated by mass, allowing for characterisation on a molecular level. This is the first time aerosol chemical composition of High Arctic aerosols has been measured using this technique. As the current knowledge about the atmospheric composition in this region is low, our results suggest a potential for using this method for further aerosol chemical characterisation in the pristine Arctic environment.</p><p>Our analysis shows that sulphur-containing compounds were most abundant in the aerosol samples, including sulphuric acid, sulphur trioxide, methanesulphonic acid (MSA) and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO). MSA and DMSO are oxidation products of dimethyl sulphide (DMS), which is released by marine phytoplankton to the atmosphere under ice-free conditions. Non-sea-salt sulphate (nss-SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup>) aerosols are known to be efficient CCN. The results will be compared to aerosol samples from the NASCENT campaign (Ny-Ålesund Aerosol and Cloud Experiment), analysed using the same CIMS technique. The campaign runs for a year during 2019-2020 at the Zeppelin station in Svalbard. Our findings are expected to contribute to better understanding of the connection between aerosols and cloud formation in the polar regions and the effects on the ocean and pack ice.</p>

scholarly journals Little auks under the midnight sun: diel activity rhythm of a small diving seabird during the Arctic summer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas ◽  
Piotr Wąż ◽  
Dariusz Jakubas
Keyword(s):  
Daily Activity ◽  
Activity Rhythm ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Population Level ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Diel Activity ◽  
Little Auk ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Colony Attendance

Many animal species exhibit a diel, 24-hr pattern of activity, which is steered by timing cues, with the daily light–dark cycle considered the most powerful. This cue, however, is reduced in polar zones under continuous daylight conditions associated with the midnight sun. The rhythm of animal behaviour under such conditions is poorly understood. Here, we examine periodicity and patterns of daily activity (colony attendance and foraging) in a High-Arctic seabird, the little auk (Alle alle). We demonstrated a regular rhythm of colony attendance at the population level, with birds being the most abundant in the colony during hours of relatively low sun elevation. This pattern is likely to be associated with predation pressure that may be perceived by birds as lower during hours with low sun elevation, because of better predator detectability. Regarding rhythms at an individual level, however, we found the most common periodicity to be 23.2 hr (range from 19.9 hr to 30.8 hr) but no clear pattern of daily colony attendance of individuals. Such a flexibility in daily rhythms indicates that individuals may become arrhythmic in regard to the 24-hr environmental cycle, despite regularities observed at the population level. Finally, we compared males and females in terms of daily activity patterns but we did not find significant sex differences.

scholarly journals 2. Notice of the Occurrence of British newer Pliocene Shells in the Arctic Seas, and of Tertiary Plants in Greenland. In a letter from Dr Scoular of Dublin.

1857 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 301-302
Author(s):  
Scoular
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Seas

“I have lately had the opportunity of examining a series of fossils from high arctic latitudes, brought home by Captain M'Lintock, R.N. The series in one sense is extensive, as there are Silurian and oolitic shells, and also other fossils of the tertiary times. Among these last there are some things which, I am sure, will be of interest to you. Among the specimens are some recent and living shells from Baring's Island, of which I will send you a list when I determine the species.

Features of the glacial formations structure and bottom relief forms related to them according to seismoacoustic profiling data and their role in the decision of discussion issues of the quarterly cover formation of the Barents Sea

2021 ◽  
pp. 25-43
Author(s):  
A.E. Rybalko ◽  
◽  
M.Yu. Tokarev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Barents Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
Novaya Zemlya ◽  
Marine Deposits ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
History Of ◽  
Continental Origin ◽  
Loose Sediments

Hot questions in the modern Quaternary geology of the Arctic seas associated with their glaciation are discussed in this article. The questions of the history of the occurrence of the problem of shelf glaciation or “drift” accumulation of boulder-bearing sediments are considered in detail. The results of seismic-acoustic studies and their interpretation with the aim of seismic stratigraphic and genetic partition of the cover of loose sediments of Quaternary age are considered in detail. Arguments are presented in favor of the continental origin of glaciers (Novaya Zemlya, Ostrovnoy and Scandinavian), which in the late Neopleistocene spread to the shelf of the Barents Sea and occupied its surface to depths of 120−150 m. Further development of glaciation was already due to the expansion of the area of shelves glaciers. The facies zoning of glacial-marine deposits is estimated, which is related to the distance from the front of the glaciers. It is concluded that already at the end of the Late Pleistocene, most of the modern Barents Sea was free from glaciers and from the annual cover of pack ice. Data on the absence of the area distribution of frozen sediment strata within the modern Barents Sea shelf are presented.

scholarly journals Low Abundance and Biodiversity of Top Predators -Seabirds and Marine Mammalsin High Arctic Seas

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Barents Sea ◽  
Chukchi Sea ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Arctic Basin ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Bering Strait ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
North East ◽  
The North

This article concerns the comparison of data collected in different high Arctic seas by the same team, mainly same platform (from the bridge of icebreaking RV Poarstern), and thus the same methodology. Drastic differences were noted, from high numbers in the Bering Strait and Chukchi Sea on the one hand, and Fram Strait and Barents Sea on the other. In contrast, abundance, mainly of seabirds, was very low in the Arctic Basin. Most numerous bird species varied in different areas, mainly fulmar, kittiwake, Brünnich’s guillemot and locally ivory gull. Biodiversity was low, as reflected by low numbers of species, a few of them representing the vast majority in numbers of individuals: between 85% and 95% of the total. Cetaceans were close to absent from the High Arctic Ocean, the Wandel Sea off North Greenland and the shallow seas along the North-East Passage; pinnipeds and polar bear were tallied on the Outer Marginal Zone OMIZ, basically absent in the Closed Pack Ice Zone CPI.

scholarly journals ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL-PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES OF PINNIPEDS OF BARENTS, WHITE AND KARA SEAS IN 2015–2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-214
Author(s):  
N.N. Kavtsevich ◽  
◽  
I.A. Erokhina ◽  
V.N. Svetochev ◽  
O.N. Svetocheva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Satellite Telemetry ◽  
Ringed Seal ◽  
Harp Seal ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Bearded Seal ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
Physiological Studies

A brief review of the most significant ecological and environmental-physiological studies of three species of true seals living in the arctic seas is presented. The results were obtained on the basis of the analysis of materials from the expeditions of Marine Mammals Laboratory in the Barents, White and Kara seas in 2015–2019. Special attention is paid to the application of satellite telemetry as well as hematological,biochemical, cytochemical methods in the study of harp seal, ringed seal, bearded seal.

scholarly journals Benthos Expert Network: Findings and recommendations from the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program’s State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Report (SAMBR)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginie Roy ◽  
Lis Lindal Jørgensen ◽  
Philippe Archambault ◽  
Martin Blicher ◽  
Nina Denisenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
Marine Areas ◽  
Expert Network

Currently, > 4,000 macro- and megabenthic invertebrate species are known from Arctic seas, representing the majority of marine faunal diversity in this region. This estimate is expected to increase with future studies. Benthic invertebrates are important ecosystem components as food for fishes, marine mammals, seabirds and humans. The Benthos Expert Network of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) aggregated and reviewed information on the population status and trends of macro- and megabenthic invertebrates across eight Arctic Marine Areas as well as the state of current monitoring efforts for these communities. Drivers are affecting benthic communities on a variety of scales, ranging from pan-Arctic (related to climate change, such as warming, ice decline and acidification) to regional or local scales (such as trawling, river/glacier discharge, and invasive species). Long-term benthic monitoring efforts have largely focused on macro- and megabenthic communities of the Chukchi and Barents Seas. Recently, they are increasing in waters off Greenland and Iceland, as well as in the Canadian Arctic and the Norwegian Sea. All other Arctic Marine Areas are lacking long-term monitoring. The presentation will summarize current level of knowledge and monitoring across the Arctic, drivers of observed trends, and knowledge and monitoring gaps.

scholarly journals Climate change could overturn bird migration: Transarctic flights and high-latitude residency in a sea ice free Arctic

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manon Clairbaux ◽  
Jérôme Fort ◽  
Paul Mathewson ◽  
Warren Porter ◽  
Hallvard Strøm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Bird Migration ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Little Auk ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Pacific

AbstractClimate models predict that by 2050 the Arctic Ocean will be sea ice free each summer. Removing this barrier between the Atlantic and the Pacific will modify a wide range of ecological processes, including bird migration. Using published information, we identified 29 arctic-breeding seabird species, which currently migrate in the North Atlantic and could shift to a transarctic migration towards the North Pacific. We also identified 24 arctic-breeding seabird species which may shift from a migratory strategy to high-arctic year-round residency. To illustrate the biogeographical consequences of such drastic migratory shifts, we performed an in-depth study of little auks (Alle alle), the most numerous artic seabird. Coupling species distribution models and climatic models, we assessed the adequacy of future wintering and breeding areas for transarctic migrants and high-arctic year-round residents. Further, we used a mechanistic bioenergetics model (Niche Mapper), to compare the energetic costs of current little auk migration in the North Atlantic with potential transarctic and high-arctic residency strategies. Surprisingly, our results indicate that transarctic little auk migration, from the North Atlantic towards the North Pacific, may only be half as costly, energetically, than high-arctic residency or migration to the North Atlantic. Our study illustrates how global warming may radically modify the biogeography of migratory species, and provides a general methodological framework linking migratory energetics and spatial ecology.

scholarly journals Benthos Expert Network: Findings and recommendations from the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program’s State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Report (SAMBR)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginie Roy ◽  
Lis Lindal Jørgensen ◽  
Philippe Archambault ◽  
Martin Blicher ◽  
Nina Denisenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Benthic Communities ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Biodiversity Monitoring ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
Marine Areas ◽  
Expert Network

Currently, > 4,000 macro- and megabenthic invertebrate species are known from Arctic seas, representing the majority of marine faunal diversity in this region. This estimate is expected to increase with future studies. Benthic invertebrates are important ecosystem components as food for fishes, marine mammals, seabirds and humans. The Benthos Expert Network of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) aggregated and reviewed information on the population status and trends of macro- and megabenthic invertebrates across eight Arctic Marine Areas as well as the state of current monitoring efforts for these communities. Drivers are affecting benthic communities on a variety of scales, ranging from pan-Arctic (related to climate change, such as warming, ice decline and acidification) to regional or local scales (such as trawling, river/glacier discharge, and invasive species). Long-term benthic monitoring efforts have largely focused on macro- and megabenthic communities of the Chukchi and Barents Seas. Recently, they are increasing in waters off Greenland and Iceland, as well as in the Canadian Arctic and the Norwegian Sea. All other Arctic Marine Areas are lacking long-term monitoring. The presentation will summarize current level of knowledge and monitoring across the Arctic, drivers of observed trends, and knowledge and monitoring gaps.

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