A 10 400-Year-Old Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) Skull from Ellef Ringnes Island, Nunavut: Implications for Sea-Ice Conditions in High Arctic Canada at the End of the Last Glaciation

ARCTIC ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Bowhead Whale ◽  
Balaena Mysticetus ◽  
Arctic Canada ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Ellef Ringnes Island

The last glaciation and sea level history of Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Canadian High Arctic

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1075-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Bell
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Marine Deposits ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Maximum Elevation ◽  
Glacier Runoff ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ice Conditions

The last glaciation of Fosheim Peninsula is reconstructed on the basis of landform and sediment mapping and associated radiocarbon dates. Ice growth involved the expansion of cirque glaciers and accumulation on upland surfaces that are now ice free. Limited ice buildup, despite lowering of the paleoglaciation level by 700–800 m, is attributed to the hyperaridity of the region during glacial conditions. Marine deposits in formerly submerged basins beyond the ice margins are interpreted to represent (i) sedimentation caused by local ice buildup and marine transgression by 10.6 ka BP, (ii) increased ablation and glacier runoff [Formula: see text]9.5 ka BP, and (iii) marine regression during the Holocene. Holocene marine limit reaches a maximum elevation of approximately 150 m asl along northern Eureka Sound and Greely Fiord and descends southeastwards to 139–142 m asl near the Sawtooth Mountains. A synchronous marine limit is implied where the last ice limit was inland of the sea. The magnitude and pattern of Holocene emergence cannot be fully explained by the glacioisostatic effects of the small ice load during the last glaciation of the region. Deglaciation of the peninsula was underway by 9.5 ka BP; however, local ice caps may have persisted through the wannest period of the Holocene until 6–5 ka BP. This was likely a function of reduced sea ice conditions and increased moisture availability which benefited low-lying coastal icefields, but had negligible effect on interior highland ice caps.

Millennial mode of variability of sea ice conditions in the Okhotsk Sea during the last glaciation (MIS 4–MIS 2)

2017 ◽  
Vol 459 ◽  
pp. 187-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuriy P. Vasilenko ◽  
Sergey A. Gorbarenko ◽  
Aleksandr A. Bosin ◽  
Xue-fa Shi ◽  
Min-Te Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Okhotsk Sea ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Ice Conditions

High Arctic sea ice conditions influence marine birds wintering in Low Arctic regions

2010 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura McFarlane Tranquilla ◽  
April Hedd ◽  
Chantelle Burke ◽  
William A. Montevecchi ◽  
Paul M. Regular ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Marine Birds ◽  
Arctic Regions ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Low Arctic

High Arctic Polynyas in a Changing Climate

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Jackson ◽  
Anna Bang Kvorning ◽  
Christof Pearce ◽  
Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz ◽  
Sofia Ribeiro
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
New Findings ◽  
North Water ◽  
Ice Conditions

<p>Polynyas, areas of open water in the otherwise sea-ice dominated high Arctic, are vital oases for biological productivity, supporting a plethora of marine mammals and birds that in turn sustain indigenous communities. Polynyas are not, however, consistent features. Beyond the observational era, little to nothing is known about their past dynamics and equally, about their resilience to emerging changes in Arctic sea-ice conditions.</p><p>Recent paleoceanographic reconstructions of the North Water in northern Baffin Bay, the largest of the high Arctic polynyas, indicate that the polynya contracted in response to warm climatic intervals during the Holocene (e.g. Roman Warm Period). In contrast, the onset of stable North Water polynya formation acted to suppress northward incursion of warm Atlantic-sourced waters. This highlighted not only the sensitivity of polynyas to past climatic changes, but the role their formation plays in mediating water column dynamics and ocean circulation.</p><p>These new findings provided the rationale for the MSCA project ‘POLARC: High Arctic Polynyas in a Changing Climate’, to investigate the Holocene dynamics of other high Arctic polynyas forming off the east Greenland coast. New marine sedimentary archives and a multiproxy approach will be used to reconstruct productivity, sea-ice conditions and bottom water conditions, capturing a holistic view of these systems and their interaction with climatic and oceanographic variation during the Holocene (11,700 years BP to present). We present here preliminary paleoceanographic reconstructions of the Sirius Water, the first Holocene record from this polynya region, as well as plans for model-data comparisons in key polynya regions with the aim of constraining the past and better predicting the future of these phenomena.</p>

scholarly journals Holocene sedimentary environment of a High−Arctic fjord in Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti E.K. Ojala ◽  
Veli−Pekka Salonen ◽  
Mateusz Moskalik ◽  
Frauke Kubischta ◽  
Markku Oinonen
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Depositional History ◽  
Magnetic Parameters ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Arctic Fjord ◽  
Climatic Optimum

AbstractA2.5−metrelong marine core from Isvika bay inNordaustlandet (80°N, 18°E) was AMS14C dated and analysed for its sedimentological and magnetic parameters. The studied record was found to cover the entire Holocene and indicates major turnovers in the palaeo− hydrography and sedimentary depositional history. The area was deglaciated at around 11,300 BP. The earlyHolocene has indications of rapidmelting of glaciers and frequent deposition of ice−rafted debris (IRD). The climatic optimum terminated with a probable glacier re−advance event occurring ca. 5800 cal BP. This event caused the deposition of a diamicton unit in Isvika bay, followed by a shift towards a colder and amore stratified hydrographic set− ting. The reduction in IRD indicates gradual cooling, which led to the stratification of the bay and eventually to more persistent fast sea−ice conditions by 2500 cal BP. For the last 500 years, Isvika has again been seasonally open.

scholarly journals Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) abundance estimate from the 2019 ice-based survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Geof Givens ◽  
J. Craig George ◽  
Robert Suydam ◽  
Barbara Tudor
Keyword(s):  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Bowhead Whale ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Balaena Mysticetus ◽  
Abundance Estimate ◽  
Management Procedure ◽  
Detection Probabilities ◽  
Ice Conditions

An ice-based visual survey of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) was conducted in spring 2019 near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. A Horvitz-Thompson-type estimator is used to estimate population abundance from the resulting data, correcting for detection probabilities, whale availability within visual range, and whale passage during periods of missed effort. Analytical methods mirror those used by Givens et al. (2016) for the 2011 survey as much as possible; however, unlike 2011, no simultaneous acoustic monitoring was conducted in 2019, so the availability correction factor had to be estimated from past years. The estimated abundance was 12,505 with 95% confidence interval of (7,994, 19,560) and a CV of 0.228. This estimated abundance is markedly lower than the 2011 estimate of 16,820, but the 2019 confidence interval wholly encompasses the 2011 interval. We do not interpret this finding as evidence of a decline for many reasons including: highly unusual ice conditions, an unusual migration route that was sometimes too distant from observers to detect whales, failure to conduct watch because of closed leads during the early weeks of the migration when numerous whales likely passed, an unusually short perch, and hunters’ heavy use of powered skiffs near the observation perch which likely disturbed the whales during the survey. Furthermore, bowhead health assessment information for 2019 suggests that harvested bowheads did not exhibit obvious reductions in health condition, and aerial surveys in summer 2019 indicated high calf production (Stimmelmayr et al. 2020). Despite the challenges of the 2019 survey, the estimate is adequate for use with the International Whaling Commission’s management procedure and complies with the survey requirements of the Aboriginal Whaling Scheme.

scholarly journals Prey selection of polar bears in Foxe Basin, NU, Canada: evidence of dietary flexibility in a specialized predator

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M P Galicia ◽  
G W Thiemann ◽  
M G Dyck ◽  
S H Ferguson ◽  
I Stirling
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Bowhead Whale ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Delphinapterus Leucas ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Foxe Basin ◽  
Ice Conditions

Abstract Ecological flexibility of a species reflects its ability to cope with environmental change. Although polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are experiencing changes in foraging opportunities due to sea ice loss, regional prey availability and environmental conditions will influence the rate and severity of these effects. We examined changes in polar bear diet and the influence of sea ice characteristics in Foxe Basin over an 18-year period. We combined previous fatty acid data from bears harvested from 1999 to 2003 (n = 82) with additional data from 2010 to 2018 (n = 397). Polar bear diets were diverse; however, ringed seal (Pusa hispida) was the primary prey throughout the sample period. Prey contribution varied temporally and spatially, and by intrinsic factors, while the frequency of prey in diets varied over time suggesting that diet estimates reflect the variability in available prey. Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), although still a minor dietary component, has more than doubled in frequency of occurrence in diets in recent years in association with increased scavenging opportunities. Higher dietary levels of beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) and harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) were linked to later breakup date suggesting heavier ice conditions may promote access to both prey species. The flexible foraging strategies of bears in Foxe Basin may help mitigate their vulnerability to changes in prey distribution and habitat conditions. Our results provide insights into the importance of alternative and supplemental food sources for polar bears during phenological changes in ice conditions that will likely have consequences to Arctic community structure as warming continues.

scholarly journals Late Quaternary Marine and Terrestrial Environments, Northwestern Baffin Island, Northwest Territories

2007 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan K. Short ◽  
John T. Andrews ◽  
Kerstin M. Williams ◽  
Nancy J. Weiner ◽  
Scott A. Elias
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Baffin Island ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Terrestrial Environments ◽  
Ice Conditions ◽  
Diatom Productivity

ABSTRACT Paleoenvironmental data were analyzed from terrestrial, lake, and marine sediments collected near Arctic Bay, Baffin Island, N.W.T. Eighteen new radiocarbon dates provide chronological control, superseding earlier results. Spuriously old dates were obtained from both sandy peats and low-organic lake sediments. The most reliable dates were from marine shells and foraminifera. They indicate that déglaciation was underway by 9000 BP rather than 16,000 BP. Over the period of the record, the local environment was characterized by a high arctic pollen assemblage dominated by grass, sedge, and willow; a middle Holocene warm period is indicated by increased willow, herb, and moss values. Sea-ice conditions were severe enough to inhibit the growth of diatoms until ca. 6300 BP and ice proximal and deglacial conditions prevailed in the fiords until ca. 6000 BP. Diatom productivity increased between 3000 BP and 2500 BP, suggesting warmer surface waters and less sea ice. After 2000 BP diatom accumulation decreased sharply, due to a cooling of climate. The foraminifera indicate a major change in bottom water conditions ca. 4000 BP as the benthic species shift from a calcareous to an arenaceous assemblage.

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