scholarly journals Biodiversity and Species Change in the Arctic Ocean: A View Through the Lens of Nares Strait

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitri Kalenitchenko ◽  
Nathalie Joli ◽  
Marianne Potvin ◽  
Jean-Éric Tremblay ◽  
Connie Lovejoy
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Species Change

scholarly journals Interpretation of Slar Imagery of Sea Ice in Nares Strait and the Arctic Ocean

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 193-213
Author(s):  
Moira Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Pole ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Forces ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ice Edge ◽  
Airborne Sensors

AbstractSLAR imagery of Nares Strait was obtained on three flights carried out in. January, March, and August of 1973 by Canadian Forces Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit in an Argus aircraft equipped with a Motorola APS-94D SLAR; the March flight also covered two lines in the Arctic Ocean, from Alert 10 the North Pole and from the Pole down the long. 4ºE. meridian to the ice edge at about lat. 80º N. No observations on the ground were possible, but -some back-up was available on all flights from visual observations recorded in the air, and on the March flight from infrared line-scan and vertical photography.The interpretation of ice features from the SLAR imagery is discussed, and the conclusion reached that in spite of certain ambiguities the technique has great potential which will increase with improving resolution, Extent of coverage per distance flown and independence of light and cloud conditions make it unique among airborne sensors.

Recent behavior of the Nares Strait ice arches: anomalous collapses and enhanced export of multi-year ice from the Arctic Ocean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent Moore ◽  
Stephen Howell ◽  
Mike Brady ◽  
Xiaoyong Xu ◽  
Kaitlin McNeil
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
Short Period ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Arctic Ice ◽  
Policy Communities ◽  
Ice Pack ◽  
Area And Volume

<p>The ice arches that usually develop at the northern and southern ends of Nares Strait play an important role in modulating the export of multi-year sea ice out of the Arctic Ocean.   As a result of global warming, the Arctic Ocean is evolving towards an ice pack that is younger, thinner and more mobile and the fate of its multi-year ice is becoming of increasing interest to both the scientific and policy communities.  Here, we use sea ice motion retrievals derived from Sentinel-1 imagery to report on recent behaviour of these ice arches and the associated ice flux. In addition to the previously identified early collapse of the northern ice arch in May 2017, we report that this arch failed to develop during the winters of 2018 and 2019.  In contrast, we report that the southern ice arch was only present for a short period of time during the winter of 2018.  We also show that the duration of arch formation has decreased over the past 20 years as ice in the region has thinned, while the ice area and volume fluxes have both increased.  These results suggest that a transition is underway towards a state where the formation of these arches will become atypical with a concomitant increase in the export of multi-year ice accelerating the transition towards a younger and thinner Arctic ice pack.</p>

Hydrographic Changes in Nares Strait (Canadian Arctic Archipelago) in Recent Decades Based on δ18O Profiles of Bivalve Shells

ARCTIC ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta E. Torres ◽  
Daniela Zima ◽  
Kelly K. Falkner ◽  
Robie W. Macdonald ◽  
Mary O'Brien ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Oxygen Isotopic ◽  
Bivalve Shells

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Nares Strait is one of three main passages of the Canadian Archipelago that channel relatively fresh seawater from the Arctic Ocean through Baffin Bay to the Labrador Sea. Oxygen isotopic profiles along the growth axis of bivalve shells, collected live over the 5 – 30 m depth range from the Greenland and Ellesmere Island sides of the strait, were used to reconstruct changes in the hydrography of the region over the past century. The variability in oxygen isotope ratios is mainly attributed to variations in salinity and suggests that the northern end of Nares Strait has been experiencing an increase in freshwater runoff since the mid 1980s. The recent changes are most pronounced at the northern end of the strait and diminish toward the south, a pattern consistent with proximity to the apparently freshening Arctic Ocean source in the north and mixing with Baffin Bay waters as the water progresses southward. This increasing freshwater signal may reflect changes in circulation and ice formation that favor an increased flow of relatively fresh waters from the Arctic Ocean into Nares Strait. </span>

scholarly journals Interpretation of Slar Imagery of Sea Ice in Nares Strait and the Arctic Ocean

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (73) ◽  
pp. 193-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moira Dunbar
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Pole ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Forces ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ice Edge ◽  
Airborne Sensors

Abstract SLAR imagery of Nares Strait was obtained on three flights carried out in. January, March, and August of 1973 by Canadian Forces Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit in an Argus aircraft equipped with a Motorola APS-94D SLAR; the March flight also covered two lines in the Arctic Ocean, from Alert 10 the North Pole and from the Pole down the long. 4ºE. meridian to the ice edge at about lat. 80º N. No observations on the ground were possible, but -some back-up was available on all flights from visual observations recorded in the air, and on the March flight from infrared line-scan and vertical photography. The interpretation of ice features from the SLAR imagery is discussed, and the conclusion reached that in spite of certain ambiguities the technique has great potential which will increase with improving resolution, Extent of coverage per distance flown and independence of light and cloud conditions make it unique among airborne sensors.

Atmospheric, oceanic, and sea-ice variability along Nares Strait: a numerical model study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yarisbel Garcia Quintana ◽  
Paul G. Myers ◽  
Kent Moore
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The North ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The North Atlantic

&lt;p&gt;Nares Strait, between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, is one of the main pathways connecting the Arctic Ocean to the North Atlantic. The multi-year sea ice that is transported through the strait plays an important role in the mass balance of Arctic sea-ice as well as influencing the climate of the North Atlantic region. This transport is modulated by the formation of ice arches that form at the southern and northern of the strait.&amp;#160; The arches also play an important role in the maintenance of the North Water Polynya (NOW) that forms at the southern end of the strait. The NOW is one of the largest and most productive of Arctic polynyas.&amp;#160;Given its significance, we use an eddy-permitting regional configuration of the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) to explore sea-ice variability along Nares Strait, from 2002 to 2019.&amp;#160;The model is coupled with the Louvain-la-Neuve (LIM2) sea ice thermodynamic and dynamic numerical model and is forced by the Canadian Meteorological Centre&amp;#8217;s Global Deterministic Prediction System Reforecasts.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We use the model to explore the variability in ocean and sea ice characteristics along Nares Strait. The positive and negative degree days, measures of ice decay and growth, along the strait are consistent with the warming that the region is experiencing. Sea-ice production/decay did not show any significant change other than an enhanced decay during the summers of 2017-1019. Sea-ice thickness on the other hand has decreased significantly since 2007. This decrease has been more pronounced along the northern (north of Kane Basin) portion of the strait. What is more, ocean model data indicates that since 2007 the northern Nares Strait upper 100m layer has become fresher, indicating an increase in the freshwater export out of the Arctic Ocean and through the strait. The southern portion of the strait, on the other hand, has become warmer and saltier, which would be consistent with an influx of Irminger Water as proposed by previous modelling results. These changes could impact the formation and stability of the ice arch and hence the cessation of ice transport down Nares Strait as well as contributing to changes in the characteristics of the NOW.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Extreme High Greenland Blocking Index Leads to the Reversal of Davis and Nares Strait Net Transport Toward the Arctic Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Myers ◽  
Laura Castro de la Guardia ◽  
Chuanshuai Fu ◽  
Laura C. Gillard ◽  
Nathan Grivault ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Blocking Index

scholarly journals Reconstruction of Holocene oceanographic conditions in the Northeastern Baffin Bay

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrine Elnegaard Hansen ◽  
Jacques Giraudeau ◽  
Lukas Wacker ◽  
Christof Pearce ◽  
Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Water Conditions

Abstract. The Baffin Bay is a semi-enclosed basin connecting the Arctic Ocean and the western North Atlantic, thus making out a significant pathway for heat exchange. Here we reconstruct the alternating advection of relatively warmer and saline Atlantic waters versus the incursion of colder Arctic water masses entering the Baffin Bay through the multiple gateways in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the Nares Strait during the Holocene. We carried out benthic foraminiferal assemblage analyses, X-Ray Fluorescence scanning and radiocarbon dating of a 738  cm long marine sediment core retrieved from the eastern Baffin Bay near Upernavik (Core AMD14-204C; 987m water depth). Results reveal that the eastern Baffin Bay was subjected to several oceanographic changes during the last 9.2 ka BP. Waning deglacial conditions with enhanced meltwater influxes and an extensive sea-ice cover prevailed in the eastern Baffin Bay from 9.2–7.9 ka BP. A transition towards bottom water ameliorations are recorded at 7.9 ka BP by increased advection of Atlantic water masses, encompassing the Holocene Thermal Maximum. A cold period with growing sea-ice cover at 6.7 ka BP interrupts the overall warm subsurface water conditions, promoted by a weaker northward flow of Atlantic waters. The onset of the Neoglaciation at ca. 2.9 ka BP, is marked by an abrupt transition towards a benthic fauna dominated by agglutinated species likely partly explained by a reduction of the influx of Atlantic water, allowing increased influx of the cold, corrosive Baffin Bay Deep Water originating from the Arctic Ocean, to enter the Baffin Bay through the Nares Strait. These cold subsurface water conditions persisted throughout the late Holocene, only interrupted by short-lived warmings superimposed on this cooling trend.

Increased Arctic Ocean sea ice loss through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago under a warmer climate

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Howell ◽  
Mike Brady
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Open Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Important Pathway

&lt;p&gt;The ice arches that ring the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago have historically blocked the inflow of Arctic Ocean sea ice for the majority of the year. However, annual average air temperature in northern Canada has increased by more than 2&amp;#176;C over the past 65+ years and a warmer climate is expected to contribute to the deterioration of these ice arches, which in turn has implications for the overall loss of Arctic Ocean sea ice. We investigated the effect of warming on the Arctic Ocean ice area flux into the Canadian Arctic Archipelago using a 22-year record (1997-2018) of ice exchange derived from RADARSAT-1 and RADARSAT-2 imagery. Results indicated that there has been a significant increase in the amount of Arctic Ocean sea ice (10&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;/year) entering the northern Canadian Arctic Archipelago over the period of 1997-2018. The increased Arctic Ocean ice area flux was associated with reduced ice arch duration but also with faster (thinner) moving ice and more southern latitude open water leeway as a result of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago&amp;#8217;s long-term transition to a younger and thinner ice regime. Remarkably, in 2016, the Arctic Ocean ice area flux into the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (161x10&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;) was 7 times greater than the 1997-2018 average (23x10&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;) and almost double the 2007 ice area flux into Nares Strait (87x10&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt; km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;). Indeed, Nares Strait is known to be an important pathway for Arctic Ocean ice loss however, the results of this study suggest that with continued warming, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago may also become a large contributor to Arctic Ocean ice loss.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals An Observational Estimate of Volume and Freshwater Flux Leaving the Arctic Ocean through Nares Strait

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 2025-2041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Münchow ◽  
Humfrey Melling ◽  
Kelly K. Falkner
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Channel Flow ◽  
Tidal Current ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ocean Current ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Freshwater Flux ◽  
Nares Strait ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Channel Slope

Abstract The Arctic Ocean is an important link in the global hydrological cycle, storing freshwater and releasing it to the North Atlantic Ocean in a variable fashion as pack ice and freshened seawater. An unknown fraction of this return flow passes through Nares Strait between northern Canada and Greenland. Surveys of ocean current and salinity in Nares Strait were completed in the summer of 2003. High-resolution data acquired by ship-based acoustic Doppler current profiler and via hydrographic casts revealed subtidal volume and freshwater fluxes of 0.8 ± 0.3 Sv and –25 ± 12 mSv (Sv = 103 mSv = 106 m3 s−1), respectively. The observations resolved the dominant spatial scale of variability, the internal Rossby radius of deformation (LD ∼9 km), and revealed a complex, yet coherent along-channel flow with a Rossby number of about 0.13, close to geostrophic balance. Approximately one-third of the total volume flux was associated with across-channel slope of the sea surface and two-thirds (68%) with across-channel slope of isopycnal surfaces. During the period of observation, sustained wind from the southwest weakened the average down-channel flow at the surface. The speed of tidal currents exceeded subtidal components by a factor of 2. Tidal signals were resolved and removed from the observations here using two independent methods resolving horizontal and vertical variability of tidal properties, respectively. Tidal current predictions from a barotropic model agreed well with depth-averaged observations in both amplitude and phase. However, because estimates of freshwater flux require accurate surface currents (and salinity), a least squares fitting procedure using velocity data was judged more reliable, since it permits quantification of vertical tidal current variations.

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