On the impact of wastewater effluent on phytoplankton in the Arctic coastal zone: A case study in the Kitikmeot Sea of the Canadian Arctic

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.

Download Full-text

Global warming is changing the dynamics of Arctic host–parasite systems

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2005.3285 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 272 (1581) ◽

pp. 2571-2576 ◽

Cited By ~ 191

Author(s):

S.J Kutz ◽

E.P Hoberg ◽

L Polley ◽

E.J Jenkins

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Parasitic Nematode ◽

Global Climate ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Domestic Animals ◽

The Arctic ◽

Infectious Agents ◽

Infection Pressure ◽

Host Parasite ◽

The Impact

Global climate change is altering the ecology of infectious agents and driving the emergence of disease in people, domestic animals, and wildlife. We present a novel, empirically based, predictive model for the impact of climate warming on development rates and availability of an important parasitic nematode of muskoxen in the Canadian Arctic, a region that is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Using this model, we show that warming in the Arctic may have already radically altered the transmission dynamics of this parasite, escalating infection pressure for muskoxen, and that this trend is expected to continue. This work establishes a foundation for understanding responses to climate change of other host–parasite systems, in the Arctic and globally.

Download Full-text

The truncate soft-shell clam, Mya truncata, as a biomonitor of municipal wastewater exposure and historical anthropogenic impacts in the Canadian Arctic.

10.1101/2021.03.29.437602 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christina M Schaefer ◽

David Deslauriers ◽

Ken M Jeffries

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Mrna Expression ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽

Municipal Wastewater ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Wastewater Effluent ◽

The Arctic ◽

Soft Shell Clam ◽

Soft Shell

Municipal wastewater is a large source of pollution to Canadian waters, yet its effects on Arctic marine ecosystems remains relatively unknown. We characterized the impacts of municipal wastewater from a growing northern community, Iqaluit, Nunavut on the Arctic truncate soft-shell clam, Mya truncata. Clams were sampled from six locations that varied in proximity to the wastewater treatment plant and shell biogeochemical analysis revealed that clams nearest the wastewater treatment plant had slower growth rates, lower carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios, and elevated concentrations of copper and lead. A parallel analysis on mRNA expression profiles characterized M. truncata's physiological response to wastewater effluent. Clams nearest the wastewater treatment plant had significantly lower mRNA expression of genes associated with metabolism, antioxidants, molecular chaperones, and phase I and II detoxification, but had heightened mRNA expression in genes coding for enzymes that bind and remove contaminants. These results demonstrated a biological response to Iqaluit's wastewater effluent and highlight M. truncata's potential to act as a biomonitor of municipal wastewater along Canadian Arctic coastlines.

Download Full-text

Seawater Intrusion on the Arctic Coast (Svalbard): The Concept of Onshore-Permafrost Wedge

Geosciences ◽

10.3390/geosciences10090349 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 349

Author(s):

Marek Kasprzak

Keyword(s):

Electrical Resistivity ◽

Coastal Zone ◽

Seawater Intrusion ◽

Land Surface ◽

Sea Water ◽

Thermal State ◽

Spring Tide ◽

The Arctic ◽

Short Article ◽

The Impact

Numerous hydrogeological studies on the coastal zone describe the intrusion of sea water inland, salting underground aquifers. The phenomenon is commonly observed in the coasts outside polar areas. However, the impact of sea water has so far not been an object of detailed investigation in a periglacial environment devoid of subsea permafrost. Geophysical measurements at the west coast of the Wedel-Jarlsberg Land in Svalbard indicate that the border between the unfrozen seabed and the frozen ground onshore is not delimited by the shoreline. A zone of coastal unfrozen ground is located under a thin layer of permafrost reaching toward the sea. This state was observed with the use of electrical resistivity tomography under rocky headlands and capes, uplifted marine terraces located at the foot of mountain massifs and valley mouths as well as in the marginal zone of the Werenskiold Glacier. This short article presents the results of such a measurement, supplemented with electromagnetic detection. The measurements are unique in that they were conducted not only on the land surface, but also at the floor of the sea bay during the low water spring tide. The author proposes name structures detected in the coastal zone as a “permafrost wedge”, extending an identification of the permafrost base between the coast and the glaciers of Svalbard. However, in the absence of boreholes that would allow determining the thermal state of the ground in the study sites, the concept is based only on the interpretation of the geophysical imaging. Therefore, further discussion is required on whether the identified contrasts in electrical resistivity indeed result from thermal differences between the rocks or if they only indicate the cryotic state of the ground (saline cryopeg) within the range of seawater intrusion.

Download Full-text

Case study of an Arctic atmospheric river with the ICON model

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-1344 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hélène Bresson ◽

Annette Rinke ◽

Vera Schemann ◽

Mario Mech ◽

Susanne Crewell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Structure ◽

Horizontal Resolution ◽

Added Value ◽

Arctic Climate ◽

The Arctic ◽

Limited Area ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Relative Role ◽

The Impact

<p>The Arctic climate changes faster than the ones of other regions, but the relative role of the individual feedback mechanisms contributing to Arctic amplification is still unclear. Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) are narrow and transient river-style moisture flows from the sub-polar regions. The integrated water vapour transport associated with ARs can explain up to 70% of the precipitation variance north of 70&#176;N. However, there are still uncertainties regarding the specific role and the impact of ARs on the Arctic climate variability.&#160;For the first time, the high-resolution ICON modelling framework is used over the Arctic region. Pan Arctic simulations (from 13 km down to ca. 6 and 3 km) are performed to investigate processes related with anomalous moisture transport into the Arctic. Based on a case study over the Nordic Seas, the representation of the atmospheric circulation and the spatio-temporal structure of water vapor, temperature and precipitation within the limited-area mode (LAM) of the ICON model is assessed, and compared with reanalysis and in-situ datasets. Preliminary results show that the moisture intrusion is relatively well represented in the ICON-LAM simulations. The study also shows added value in increasing the model horizontal resolution on the AR representation.</p>

Download Full-text

A case Study of old-ice import and export through Peary and Sverdrup Channels in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: 1998–2005

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/172756406781811321 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 329-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Bea Alt ◽

Katherine Wilson ◽

Tom Carrières

Keyword(s):

Arctic Ocean ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

The Arctic ◽

Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽

Northwest Passage ◽

Ice Coverage ◽

Through Flow ◽

Ice Conditions ◽

Import And Export

AbstractThis case Study attempts to quantify the amount and timing of the import, export and through-flow of old ice in the Peary Channel–sverdrup Channel area of the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago during the period 1998–2005. The Study combines quantitative weekly area-averaged ice coverage evaluations from the Canadian Ice Service (CIS) Digital Archive with detailed analysis of Radarsat imagery and ice-motion results from the CIS ice-motion algorithm. The results Show that in 1998 more than 70% of the old ice in Peary–sverdrup was lost, half by melt and export to the South and the other half by export north into the Arctic Ocean, and that no Arctic Ocean old ice was imported into Peary–sverdrup. A net import of 10% old ice was Seen in 1999, with Some indication of through-flow into Southern channels. In 2000, no net import of old ice occurred in Peary–sverdrup, but there was Significant through-flow, with evidence of old ice reaching the Northwest Passage by November. Full recovery of the old-ice regime was complete by the end of 2001. More than two-thirds of the recovery was due to the in Situ formation of Second-year ice. Conditions in the following 3 years were near normal.

Download Full-text

Mapping macroalgae beds and environmental factors for understanding the impact of climate change in the Arctic - a case study from Isfjorden (West Spitsbergen)

10.4095/305877 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

A Kruss ◽

J Wiktor ◽

A Tatarek ◽

J Wiktor

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

The Arctic ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

West Spitsbergen ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

Sustainable Development of the Arctic Indigenous Communities: The Approach to Projects Optimization of Mining Company

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12197963 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (19) ◽

pp. 7963 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrey Novoselov ◽

Ivan Potravny ◽

Irina Novoselova ◽

Violetta Gassiy

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Industrial Development ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Optimal Solution ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

The Arctic ◽

Mining Company ◽

Mining Projects ◽

The Impact

The article discusses the issues of sustainable development of indigenous communities in the Arctic based on the optimization of projects of mining companies. The purpose of the article is to develop tools for decision-making to optimize the mining projects based on economic and mathematical models. The authors suppose that, by comparing and selecting different options for resource extraction, the use of various technologies and the impact of projects, the conditions of the traditional life of indigenous peoples, the preservation of health, it is possible to find a compromise solution for stakeholders. The case-study of Alrosa—a diamond giant mining in Yakutia is researched in the paper. To ensure sustainable development of traditional lands, it is proposed to optimize mining projects, in order to carry out a project maneuver during Arctic development. The project maneuver of the mining company makes it possible to choose the optimal solution from the existing alternatives for the extraction of minerals. The authors propose criteria and procedures for the selection of alternative options for the implementation of extractive projects. The alternative projects selected in this way make it possible to compensate to indigenous communities for the negative impact during industrial development of the Arctic.

Download Full-text

A Case Study: Was Private William Braine of the 1845 Franklin Expedition a Victim of Tuberculosis? + Supplementary Appendix 1 (See Article Tools)

ARCTIC ◽

10.14430/arctic4683 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jannine Forst ◽

Terence A. Brown

Keyword(s):

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

The Arctic ◽

Time Of Death ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Supplementary Appendix ◽

Northwest Passage ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Generation Sequencing

The Franklin expedition set sail in 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic. During the first winter in the Arctic, three crewmen died of unknown causes. In the 1980s, Dr. Owen Beattie and his colleagues conducted autopsies, which indicated that all three may have suffered from tuberculosis at the time of death. In the present study, a bone sample from one of these individuals, Private William Braine, was analyzed for ancient DNA belonging to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tests based on both the polymerase chain reaction and next-generation sequencing were carried out. The results show that it is unlikely that tuberculosis contributed directly to his death.

Download Full-text

Sea ice concentration impacts dissolved organic gases in the Canadian Arctic

10.5194/bg-2021-252 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Charel Wohl ◽

Anna E. Jones ◽

William T. Sturges ◽

Philip D. Nightingale ◽

Brent Else ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Dimethyl Sulfide ◽

Mixed Layer Depth ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

The Arctic ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Sea Ice Concentration ◽

Ice Concentration ◽

Subsurface Maximum ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The marginal sea ice zone has been identified as a source of different climate active gases to the atmosphere due to its unique biogeochemistry. However, it remains highly undersampled and the impact of changes in sea ice concentration on the distributions of these gases is poorly understood. To address this, we present measurements of dissolved methanol, acetone, acetaldehyde, dimethyl sulfide and isoprene in the sea ice zone of the Canadian Arctic from the surface down to 60 m. The measurements were made using a Segmented Flow Coil Equilibrator coupled to a Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer. These gases varied in concentrations with depth, with the highest concentrations generally observed near the surface. Underway (3–4 m) measurements showed broadly higher concentrations in partial sea ice cover compared to ice-free waters. The large number of depth profiles at different sea ice coverages enables proposition of the likely dominant production processes of these compounds in this area. Methanol concentrations appear to be controlled by specific biological consumption processes. Acetone and acetaldehyde concentrations are influenced by the penetration depth of light and the mixed layer depth, implying dominant photochemical sources in this area. Dimethyl sulfide and isoprene both display higher surface concentrations in partial sea ice coverage compared to ice-free waters due to ice edge blooms. Dimethyl sulfide concentrations sometimes display a subsurface maximum in ice -free conditions, while isoprene displays more reliably a subsurface maximum. Surface gas concentrations were used to estimate their air – sea fluxes. Despite obvious in situ production, we estimate that the sea ice zone is absorbing methanol and acetone from the atmosphere. In contrast, DMS and isoprene are consistently emitted from the ocean, with marked episodes of high emissions during ice-free conditions, suggesting that these gases are produced in ice-covered areas and emitted once the ice has melted. Our measurements show that the seawater concentrations and air-sea fluxes of these gases are clearly impacted by sea ice concentration. These novel measurements and insights will allow us to better constrain the cycling of these gases in the polar regions and their effect on the oxidative capacity and aerosol budget in the Arctic atmosphere.

Download Full-text