Behaviour of ringed seals tagged with satellite transmitters in the North Water polynya during fast-ice formation

To gain insight into the use by ringed seals (Phoca hispida) of the North Water polynya (northern Baffin Bay), we monitored the movements and diving behaviour of eight ringed seals caught in the fjords of the Thule (Avernarsuaq) area in Northwest Greenland. The animals were caught in August-September 1996 and equipped with satellite transmitters. Contact with the seals was maintained for up to 146 days. Two of the seals left the study area soon after being equipped, one moved north to the Kane Basin and one moved to southeastern Baffin Island. The departure of the other six seals from the fjords was apparently related to the formation of landfast ice. After formation of the polynya, all positions were close to the edge of the fast ice in the Thule area. Of the six seals that stayed in the North Water, three females preferred areas with shallow water (<100 m), while three males with larger body mass remained mainly in areas with deeper waters (>100 m). The "shallow-water" seals dove significantly more frequently to depths of less than 50 m than the "deep-water" seals, whereas the deep-water seals made significantly more dives that were deeper than 50 m. However, all seals occasionally dove to depths of more than 250 m.

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Biomarker characterization of the North Water Polynya, Baffin Bay: Implications for local sea ice and temperature proxies

10.5194/bg-2021-177 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David J. Harning ◽

Brooke Holman ◽

Lineke Woelders ◽

Anne E. Jennings ◽

Julio Sepúlveda

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

The Arctic ◽

Sea Ice Extent ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

The North ◽

North Water Polynya ◽

Lipid Biomarker ◽

North Water ◽

Order Of Magnitude ◽

Insight Into

Abstract. The North Water Polynya (NOW, Greenlandic Inuit: Pikialasorsuaq), Baffin Bay, is the largest polynya and one of the most productive regions in the Arctic. This area of thin to absent sea ice is a critical moisture source for local ice sheet sustenance and coupled with the inflow of nutrient-rich Arctic Surface Water, supports a diverse community of Arctic fauna and indigenous people. Although paleoceanographic records can provide critical insight into the NOW’s past behavior, it is critical that we fully understand the modern functionality of the paleoceanographic proxies beforehand. In this study, we analyzed lipid biomarkers, including algal highly-branched isoprenoids and sterols for sea ice extent and pelagic productivity, and algal alkenones and archaeal GDGTs for ocean temperature, in a suite of modern surface sediment samples from within and around the NOW. Our data show that all highly-branched isoprenoids exhibit strong correlations with each other and show highest concentrations within the NOW, which suggests a spring/autumn sea ice diatom source rather than a combination of sea ice and open water diatoms as seen elsewhere in the Arctic. Sterols are also highly concentrated in the NOW and exhibit an order of magnitude higher concentration here compared to sites south of the NOW, consistent with the order of magnitude higher primary productivity observed within the NOW relative to surrounding waters in spring/summer months. Finally, our temperature calibrations for alkenones, GDGTs and OH-GDGTs reduce the uncertainty present in global temperature calibrations, but also identify some additional variables that may be important in controlling their local distribution, such as salinity, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen. Collectively, our datasets provide new insight into the utility of these lipid biomarker proxies in high-latitude settings and will help provide a refined perspective on the Holocene development of the NOW with their application in downcore reconstructions.

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DIET OF RINGED SEALS (PHOCA HISPIDA) ON THE EAST AND WEST SIDES OF THE NORTH WATER POLYNYA, NORTHERN BAFFIN BAY

Marine Mammal Science ◽

10.1111/j.1748-7692.2001.tb01304.x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 888-908 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Meike Holst ◽

Ian Stirling ◽

Keith A. Hobson

Keyword(s):

Phoca Hispida ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

The North ◽

North Water Polynya ◽

Ringed Seals ◽

North Water ◽

East And West

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A case-study in tracking 1998 polynya ice dynamics in Smith Sound, North Water polynya region, Canadian Arctic, using RADARSAT-1 data

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/172756401781818815 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 33 ◽

pp. 413-418 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K. J. Wilson ◽

D. J. King ◽

D. G. Barber

Keyword(s):

Canadian Arctic ◽

Ice Dynamics ◽

The North ◽

North Water Polynya ◽

North Water ◽

Oceanic Forcing ◽

The Mean ◽

Insight Into

AbstractMonitoring ice motion provides insight into the relative contributions of atmospheric and oceanic forcing to polynya dynamics In this study ice kinematics in the North Water (NOW) region, northern Baffin Bay Canadian Arctic are determined using time-sequential RADARSAT-1 ScanSARWide imagery (from the period January-December 1998), processed by the automated ice-tracking algorithm (Tracker) currently used at the Canadian Ice Service (CIS). A case-study is then carried out on the Smith Sound region from January till the end of june 1998 to monitor polynya formation, maintenance and disintegration. This has two objectives: (1) to evaluate satellite ice-motion products as a means of better understanding the relative contributions of latent- and sensible-heat mechanisms responsible for the formation and behaviour of the NOW polynya, and (2) to study the influence of winds on regional sea-ice motion. Derived ice-motion maps were validated using in situ ice beacons deployed onto floes in the NOW region during the 1998 ship-based science experiment. Tracker-derived displacement and directional regressions were 0.93 and 0.79, respectively, with a total standard error of 3.6 km in magnitude and 38.8° in direction. Analysis of monthly mean ice-motion maps shows that a significant export of ice occurs from the polynya. A comparison of weekly-averaged ice motion with the mean wind-field data suggests that ice export in Smith Sound is influenced by synoptic-scale atmospheric pressure systems.

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Horizontal Movement of Fast Ice in the North Water Area

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s002214300002949x ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 19 (81) ◽

pp. 547-554 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Hajime Ito ◽

Fritz Müller

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Water Area ◽

Physical Characteristics ◽

Stress Strain ◽

Horizontal Movement ◽

The North ◽

North Water ◽

Fast Ice ◽

External Forces

AbstractThe understanding of the horizontal movement of fast ice is important for applied sea-ice mechanics. A case study, carried out in conjunction with a polynya known as North Water, is presented in this paper. The displacements of the fast-ire arches which separate the polynya from the surrounding ice-covered sea, were measured and found to be small. It is, therefore, confirmed that these arches prevent the influx of large quantities of sea ice into the polynya. The results are then explained in terms of the external forces (wind and current), the stress- strain situations and some physical characteristics (temperature and thickness) which were measured simultaneously.

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Marine late Saalian to Eemian environments and climatic variability in the Danish shelf area

Netherlands Journal of Geosciences – Geologie en Mijnbouw ◽

10.1017/s0016774600023696 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 79 (2-3) ◽

pp. 335-343 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz ◽

Karen Luise Knudsen ◽

Peter Kristensen

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Shallow Water ◽

Oxygen Isotope ◽

Deep Water ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Shelf Area ◽

North East ◽

The North ◽

Mis 5E

AbstractThe marine Eemian (marine oxygen-isotope substage 5e: MIS 5e) is represented by shallow-water deposits in southern and western Denmark, while relatively deep-water environments occurred to the north and north-east, where complete interglacial successions seem to be present. We present an overview of the marine Eemian deposits in Denmark, and discuss in more detail indications of climate variability, both for the late Saalian and within the Eemian.

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Living at a High Arctic Polynya: Inughuit Settlement and Subsistence around the North Water during the Thule Station Period, 1910–53

ARCTIC ◽

10.14430/arctic4573 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Bjarne Grønnow

Keyword(s):

Raw Materials ◽

High Arctic ◽

Ringed Seal ◽

Site Location ◽

Ice Cap ◽

The North ◽

North Water Polynya ◽

Annual Range ◽

North Water ◽

The Rich

The settlement and subsistence patterns of the Inughuit of the Avanersuaq (Thule area) are described and analyzed for the years 1910 to 1953, when Knud Rasmussen’s trading station at Dundas was active. Inughuit subsistence was based on the rich biotic resources of the North Water polynya between Ellesmere Island and Greenland, but the analysis shows that trade, primarily with fox furs at the Thule Station, also played a major role in shaping the settlement pattern of the period. During the Thule Station Period, the named winter settlements amounted to c. 40 sites; however, only 10–15 of them were settled at any given time. The Inughuit settlement close to the station, Uummannaq, soon became the largest site in the area. The sources enable us to follow changes of residence of some hunting families over four decades. By moving their winter sites every second or third year, the families gained primary knowledge of the topography and seasonal variation of the hunting grounds in the entire Thule district during their active years. In the same way, they connected with diverse family networks through the years. Tracing the sledge routes that connected the sites over great distances reveals how decisive proximity to main and escape routes over the Ice Cap was for site location. Dog sledge technology, and thus capacity to transport people, gear, and stored food, boomed during the Thule Station Period with the wealth created from trade and access to raw materials. Mapping the main hunting grounds on the sea ice and modeling the hunters’ annual range of possibilities for accessing different game—mainly walrus, ringed seal, narwhal, and sea birds (plus some caribou)—showed that ringed seal formed the bread and butter of the subsistence economy. However, bulk resources, gained in particular from intensive spring walrus hunts at a few hot spots, as well as carefully timed consumption and sharing of the stored meat and blubber, were keys to life at the North Water polynya. Temporary settlement at the trading stations in the area—a couple of winters at a time—was also part of the risk management strategy of the Inughuit.

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Ice Conditions of an Arctic Polynya: North Water in Winter

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0022143000012089 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 32 (112) ◽

pp. 383-390 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Konrad Steffen

Keyword(s):

Sea Water ◽

Surface Condition ◽

Open Water ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Aerial Images ◽

The Arctic ◽

The North ◽

North Water ◽

Ice Conditions ◽

Fast Ice

AbstractThe surface condition of the North Water was investigated during two winters (i.e. the three polynyas: Smith Sound polynya, Lady Ann Strait polynya, and Barrow Strait polynya). Since no detailed information was available on ice conditions and the extent of open water during winter, radiometric temperature measurements of the sea surface had to be taken along a flight line of 2650 km from an altitude of 300 m. From November to March 1978-79 and 1980-81, 14 remote-sensing flights were carried out. On the basis of the radiometric measurements, the following ice types were identified: ice-free, dark nilas, light nilas, grey ice, grey-white ice, and white ice. A comparison between the thermal and the visual ice classification (the latter being based on grey tones of the aerial images) showed a deviation of 3%. The analysis showed that in November, December, and January more than 50% of the Smith Sound polynya was covered by young ice, nilas, and ice-free, whereas in February and March white ice was dominant. Moreover, it was found that the two polynyas in Smith Sound and Lady Ann Strait were much smaller than previously believed. In Barrow Strait, a semi-permanent polynya was observed in the winter of 1980-81. The occurrence of polynyas in Barrow Strait seems to be connected with the location of the fast-ice edge. On the basis of the calculated ice-type distribution and heat-flux rates for different ice types, an energy loss of 178 W m-2was found on the surface of the Smith Sound polynya due to open water and thin ice for the winter months November to March. Compared with other ice-covered sea surfaces in the Arctic, the heat release by the sea-water in the Smith Sound polynya is about 100 W m-2larger.

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