SourcE and impact of greeNhousE gasses in AntarctiCA: the Seneca project

Current global climate changes represent a threat for the stability of the polar regions and may result in cascading broad impacts. Studies conducted on permafrost in the Arctic regions indicate that these areas may store almost twice the carbon currently present in the atmosphere. Therefore, permafrost thawing may potentially cause a significant increase of greenhouse gases concentrations in the atmosphere, exponentially rising the global warming effect. Although several studies have been carried out in the Arctic regions, there is a paucity of data available from the Southern Hemisphere. The Seneca project aims to fill this gap and to provide a first degree of evaluations of gas concentrations and emissions from permafrost and/or thawed shallow strata of the Dry Valleys in Antarctica. The Taylor and Wright Dry Valleys represent one of the few Antarctic areas that are not covered by ice and therefore represent an ideal target for permafrost investigations.Here we present the preliminary results of a multidisciplinary field expedition conducted during the Antarctic summer in the Dry Valleys, aimed to collect and analyse soil gas and water samples, to measure CO2 and CH4 flux exhalation, to investigate the petrological soil properties, and to acquire geoelectrical profiles. The obtained data are used to 1) derive a first total emission estimate for methane and carbon dioxide in this part of the Southern Polar Hemisphere, 2) locate the potential presence of geological discontinuities that can act as preferential gas pathways for fluids release, and 3) investigate the mechanisms of gas migration through the shallow sediments. These results represent a benchmark for measurements in these climate sensitive regions where little or no data are today available.

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Ensuring the Sustainability of Arctic Industrial Facilities under Conditions of Global Climate Change

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources10120128 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 128

Author(s):

George Buslaev ◽

Pavel Tsvetkov ◽

Alexander Lavrik ◽

Andrey Kunshin ◽

Elizaveta Loseva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Climate Change ◽

Global Climate ◽

The Arctic ◽

Industrial Facilities ◽

Arctic Regions ◽

Industrial Buildings ◽

Permafrost Soils ◽

The Stability ◽

Thermal Influence

Global climate change poses a challenge to the mineral development industry in the Arctic regions. Civil and industrial buildings designed and constructed without consideration of warming factors are beginning to collapse due to changes in the permafrost structure. St. Petersburg Mining University is developing technical and technological solutions for the construction of remote Arctic facilities and a methodology for their design based on physical and mathematical predictive modeling. The article presents the results of modeling the thermal regimes of permafrost soils in conditions of thermal influence of piles and proposes measures that allow a timely response to the loss of bearing capacity of piles. Designing pile foundations following the methodology proposed in the article to reduce the risks from global climate change will ensure the stability of remote Arctic facilities located in the zone of permafrost spreading.

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First measurements of 222Rn and 220Rn activities in soil in Taylor Valley, Antarctica.

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-5100 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Livio Ruggiero ◽

Alessandra Sciarra ◽

Gianfranco Galli ◽

Adriano Mazzini ◽

Claudio Mazzoli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fossil Fuels ◽

Global Climate ◽

The Arctic ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Activity Levels ◽

Arctic Regions ◽

Fluid Saturation ◽

Taylor Valley ◽

Starting Point ◽

Permafrost Thawing

Warming global climate threatens the stability of the polar regions and may result in cascading broad impacts. Studies conducted on permafrost in the Arctic regions indicate that these areas may store almost twice the carbon currently present in the atmosphere. Therefore, permafrost thawing has the potential to magnify the warming effect by doubling the more direct anthropogenic impact from burning of fossil fuels, agriculture and changes in land use. . Permafrost thawing may also intensify the Rn transport due to the increase of fluid saturation and permeability of the soil. A detailed study of 222Rn and 220Rn activity levels in polar soils constitutes a starting point to investigate gas migration processes as a function of the thawing permafrost. Although several studies have been carried out in the Arctic regions, there is little data available from the Southern Hemisphere. The Italian &#8211; New Zealand &#8220;SENECA&#8221; project aims to fill this gap and to provide the first evaluations of gas concentrations and emissions from permafrost and/or thawed shallow strata of the Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Taylor Valley is one of the few Antarctic regions that are not covered by ice and therefore is an ideal target for permafrost investigations. Results from our first field observations highlight very low values for 222Rn (mean 621 Bq m-3, max value 1,837 Bq m-3) and higher values for 220Rn (mean 11,270 Bq m-3, max value 27,589 Bq m-3), suggesting a shallow source. These measured activity values are essentially controlled by the radionuclide content in the soil, by the permeability and porosity of the soil, and by the water content. This dataset also represents an important benchmark for future measurements to track the melt progress of Antarctic permafrost.

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SOURCES OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND CONDITIONS SUSTAINABILITY OF EXTERNAL MIGRATION REGIONS OF THE ARCTIC

EKONOMIKA I UPRAVLENIE: PROBLEMY, RESHENIYA ◽

10.36871/ek.up.p.r.2021.11.02.007 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (11) ◽

pp. 39-47

Author(s):

Valentina P. Toichkina ◽

Keyword(s):

The Arctic ◽

Demographic Structure ◽

Important Resource ◽

Arctic Regions ◽

Self Development ◽

Migration Flows ◽

The Stability ◽

External Migration

The article examines the external (exogenous) and internal (endogenous) sources of self-development of external migration, which is the most important resource for the formation of the size and demographic structure of the population of the Arctic regions. It is proposed to consider migration flows from the standpoint of their definition as sources (external and internal) of self-development. The coefficients of the intensity of migration flows are proposed to assess the sources of self-development. The analysis of the sources of self-development of external migration and the analysis of sustainable self-development of external migration for two four-year periods are carried out. The trends of changes in the migration situation have been determined. The conditions for the influence of sources of self-development on changes in the stability of external migration are determined, the method of determining which is a mechanism for analyzing and predicting migration processes.

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Climate and Hydrologic Variations and Implications for Lake and Stream Ecological Response in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Climate Variability and Ecosystem Response in Long-Term Ecological Research Sites ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195150599.003.0019 ◽

2003 ◽

Author(s):

Kathleen A. Welch ◽

W. Berry Lyons

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Climatic Change ◽

High Latitude ◽

Lake Level ◽

Climate Changes ◽

Global Climate ◽

Mcmurdo Dry Valleys ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Dry Valleys ◽

Long Term Ecological Research

Because polar regions may amplify what would be considered small to moderate climate changes at lower latitudes, Weller (1998) proposed that the monitoring of high latitude regions should yield early evidence of global climate change. In addition to the climate changes themselves, the connections between the polar regions and the lower latitudes have recently become of great interest to meteorologists and paleoclimatologists alike. In the southern polar regions, the direct monitoring of important climatic variables has taken place only for the last few decades, largely because of their remoteness. This of course limits the extent to which polar records can be related to low latitude records, even at multiyear to decadal timescales. Climatologists and ecologists are faced with the problem that, even though these high latitude regions may provide important clues to global climatic change, the lengths of available records are relatively short. The McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM LTER) program was established in 1993. This program built on the monitoring begun in the late 1960s by researchers from New Zealand, who collected records of climate, lake level, and stream discharge in the Wright Valley, Antarctica. Griffith Taylor’s field party obtained the first data related to lake level in 1903 as part of Scott’s Discovery expedition. Analysis of the more recent data from the New Zealand Antarctic and MCM LTER programs when compared to the 1903 datum indicates that the first half of the twentieth century was a period of steadily increasing streamflows, followed in the last half of the century by streamflows that have resulted in more slowly increasing or stable lake levels (Bomblies et al. 2001). Thus, meteorological and hydrological records generated by the MCM LTER research team, when coupled with past data and the ecological information currently being obtained, provide the first detailed attempt to understand the connection between ecosystem structure and function and climatic change in this region of Antarctica. In addition, the program helps to fill an important gap in the overall understanding of climatic variability in Antarctica.

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Pollutants present in different components of the Svalbard archipelago environment / Zanieczyszczenia obecne w różnych komponentach środowiska archipelagu Svalbard

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S ◽

10.2478/v10216-011-0040-9 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 571-584 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Marek Ruman ◽

Katarzyna Kozak ◽

Sara Lehmann ◽

Krystyna Kozioł ◽

Żaneta Polkowska

Keyword(s):

Measurement Data ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Analytical Techniques ◽

The Arctic ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Svalbard Archipelago ◽

Arctic Ecosystem ◽

Arctic Regions ◽

Area Of Interest

Abstract During last years an interest in the processes of transport and fate of pollutants to the polar regions located distantly from industrial centers, has significantly increased. The current analytical techniques enabling conducting studies prove that the Arctic regions (in the past considered as a pollution free area) have become an area of highly intensive anthropopresion. Svalbard archipelago stands out from the other polar regions due to its specific environmental conditions and geographic location, which results in becoming a reservoir of contamination in this area. Systematic environmental monitoring of arctic regions is extremely important due to an unique opportunity of observing a direct impact of pollution on the ongoing processes in the area of interest. In this way measurement data obtained are a valuable source of information, not only on changes occurring in the Arctic ecosystem, but also on estimated global impact of certain xenobiotics present in the environment. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative studies on particular chemicals deposited in different regions of the Arctic ecosystem may constitute the basis for undertaking actions aimed at preventing negative effects caused by these pollutants.

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SPATIOTEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF SNOW DEPTH ON FIRST-YEAR ICE BASED ON FY3B/MWRI IN THE ARCTIC

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xliii-b3-2020-881-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol XLIII-B3-2020 ◽

pp. 881-885

Author(s):

L. Li ◽

H. Chen ◽

L. Guan

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Snow Depth ◽

Spatiotemporal Analysis ◽

The Arctic ◽

First Year ◽

Annual Data ◽

Arctic Regions ◽

Spatial Changes ◽

Distribution Features ◽

The Stability

Abstract. As an important factor in the stability of the climate system in the northern hemisphere, the Arctic has recently attracted considerable attention. In the Arctic, most sea ice is covered by snow year-round, except in the snow-melting season. Given its high albedo and low thermal conductivity, snow cover on sea ice is considered a key component of amplified warming in the Arctic. However, in Arctic regions, the only products available are for snow depths on first-year ice. Therefore, this paper studies the temporal and spatial changes of snow depth on first-year ice in the Arctic using the snow depth on sea ice product determined from the Microwave Radiation Imager onboard the Feng Yun-3B satellite. We averaged the daily snow depth on first-year ice data to give monthly and annual values over the period 2011–2018, using flags for multiyear ice and melting points. Taking the 2012 data as an example, the analysis results show that the spatial distribution of snow depth in the monthly and annual data is similar over the whole first-year ice area. The snow depth basically decreases with latitude, and the distribution features exhibit little variation by month and year. The weekly mean snow depth on first-year ice begins to increase from October/November due to snowfall, and reaches a maximum value in late April/early May of the next year. There is no obvious law governing the inter-annual variation of snow depth in the Arctic from 2011–2018.

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September Arctic Sea Ice minimum prediction – a new skillful statistical approach

10.5194/esd-2018-61 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Monica Ionita ◽

Klaus Grosfeld ◽

Patrick Scholz ◽

Renate Treffeisen ◽

Gerrit Lohmann

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Statistical Model ◽

Climate Models ◽

Global Climate ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

The Arctic ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Sea Ice Extent ◽

Important Indicator ◽

Predictive Skill

Abstract. Sea ice in both Polar Regions is an important indicator for the expression of global climate change and its polar amplification. Consequently, a broad interest exists on sea ice coverage, variability and long term change. However, its predictability is complex and it depends on various atmospheric and oceanic parameters. In order to provide insights into the potential development of a monthly/seasonal signal of sea ice evolution, we developed a robust statistical model based on oceanic and different atmospheric variables to calculate an estimate of the September sea ice extent (SSIE) on monthly time scale. Although previous statistical attempts of monthly/seasonal SSIE forecasts show a relatively reduced skill, when the trend is removed, we show here that the September sea ice extent has a high predictive skill, up to 4 months ahead, based on previous months' atmospheric and oceanic conditions. Our statistical model skillfully captures the interannual variability of the SSIE and could provide a valuable tool for identifying relevant regions and atmospheric parameters that are important for the sea ice development in the Arctic and for detecting sensitive and critical regions in global coupled climate models with focus on sea ice formation.

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Hemispheric sea ice extent dynamics as observed from MSMR

MAUSAM ◽

10.54302/mausam.v60i3.1101 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 60 (3) ◽

pp. 295-308

Author(s):

NILAY SHARMA ◽

M. K. DASH ◽

P. C. PANDEY ◽

N. K. VYAS

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Global Climate ◽

Ice Cover ◽

The Arctic ◽

Ice Formation ◽

Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Sea Ice Extent ◽

Year 2000 ◽

Formation Phase

The ice covered regions of the polar seas influence the global climate in several ways. Any perturbation in the polar oceanic cryosphere affects the local weather and the global climate through modulation of the radiative forcing, the bottom water formation and the mass & the momentum transfer between Atmosphere-Cryosphere-Ocean System. The cold, harsh and inhospitable conditions in the polar regions prohibit the collection of extensive in situ data with sufficient spatial and temporal variation. However, satellite remote sensing is an ideal technique for studying the areas like the polar regions with synoptic and repetitive coverage. This paper discusses the analysis of the data obtained over the polar oceanic regions during the period June 1999 – September 2001 through the use of Multi-channel Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR), onboard India’s first oceanographic satellite Oceansat-1. The MSMR observation shows that all the sectors in the Antarctic behave differently to the melting and formation of the sea ice. Certain peculiar features like the increase in sea ice extent during the melt season of 1999 – 2000 in the Indian Ocean sector, 15 – 20% decrease in the sea ice extent in the western Pacific sector during the ice formation period for the year 2000, melting spell within the formation phase of sea ice in B & A sector in the year 2000 were observed. On the other hand the northern polar sea ice extent is seen to be more dominated by the land characteristics. The ice formation in Kara and the Barent Sea sector is dominated by the ocean currents, where as the ice covered in the Japan and the Okhotsk Sea is dominated by the land processes. The sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean show fluctuations from July to October and remain almost steady over other months. The global sea ice cover shows a formation phase from March to June and melting phase from November to February. In other months, i.e., from July – October the global sea ice cover is dominated by the hemispheric asymmetry of the ice growth and retreat.

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Pengembangan Nontransgenik F1 dan Bc1f1 Padi Ciherang Toleran Genangan secara Site-Directed Crossing

Current Biochemistry ◽

10.29244/cb.1.3.136-145 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 136-145

Author(s):

Djarot Sasongko Hami Seno ◽

Satya Nugroho ◽

Tri Joko Santoso ◽

Joel Rivandi Sinaga ◽

Euis Marlina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Agronomic Traits ◽

Global Climate ◽

Rice Variety ◽

Submergence Tolerance ◽

Rice Varieties ◽

Global Climate Changes ◽

Tolerance Gene ◽

The Stability ◽

Large Scale Cultivation

The development of submergence tolerant rice varieties is urgently required to maintain the stability of future food production, to anticipate the unpredictable global climate changes. Due to in-economical agronomic traits of native submergence tolerant varieties for large scale cultivation, submergence tolerance gene (sub1) must be introduced into popular high-yielding rice variety, such as Ciherang. To develop new submergence tolerant variety with good agronomic traits as those of Ciherang, in this research, submergence tolerance gene (sub1) was introduced into Ciherang variety. To avoid strict GMO regulation, gene introduction was carried out through site-directed crossing. Donor sub1 was crossed with Ciherang host. The selected F1 progenies were further backcrossed to Ciherang 4 x to obtain BC5F1 progeny having ~98% agronomic traits of those of Ciherang. In every cross/backcross generation, submergence test was performed, followed by sub1 marker-assisted PCR. F1 and BC1F1 submergence-tolerant Ciherang were successfully constructed. Co-dominant RM464A marker was not able to discriminate between host, donor, and progenies (F1 and BC1). Co-dominant RM219 maker showed slightly different size between donor and host amplicon, but it was difficult to see their heterozygous progenies. Both C173 and AEX1 dominant markers were able to show sub1 introgression from donor to host. PCR results confirmed that progenies-submergence tolerance was due to sub1 introgression, not escape mechanisms. AEX1 was chosen for subsequent experiments. Backcross until BC5 is in progress, to obtain maximum host retention for engineering new submergence tolerant varieties with good agronomic traits as those of Ciherang.

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Surface reflectivity in polar regions retrieved from TDS-1 mission data

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13036 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Frederik Kreß ◽

Maximilian Semmling ◽

Estel Cardellach ◽

Weiqiang Li ◽

Mainul Hoque ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Surface Roughness ◽

Sea Ice ◽

Large Scale ◽

Global Climate ◽

Path Loss ◽

Signal Strength ◽

Global Navigation Satellite Systems ◽

The Arctic ◽

Polar Regions

In current times of a changing global climate, a special interest is focused on the large-scale recording of sea ice. Among the existing remote sensing methods, bi- statically reflected signals of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) could play an important role in fulfilling the task. Within this project, sensitivity of GNSS signal reflections to sea ice properties like its occurrence, sea ice thick- ness (SIT) and sea concentration (SIC) is evaluated. When getting older, sea ice tends go get thicker. Because of decreasing salinity, i.e. less permittivity, as well as relatively higher surface roughness of older ice, it can be assumed that reflected signal strength decreases with increasing SIT. The reflection data used were recorded in the years 2015 and 2016 by the TechDemoSat-1 (TDS-1) satellite over the Arctic and Antarctic. It includes a down-looking antenna for the reflected as well as an up-looking antenna dedicated to receive the direct sig- nal. The raw data, provided by the manufacturer SSTL, were pre-processed by IEEC/ICE-CSIC to derive georeferenced signal power values. The reflectivity was estimated by comparing the power of the up- and down-looking links. The project focuses on the signal link budget to apply necessary corrections. For this reason, the receiver antenna gain as well as the Free-Space Path Loss (FSPL) were calculated and applied for reflectivity correction. Differences of nadir and zenith antenna FSPL and gain show influence of up to 6 dB and &#8722;9 dB to 9 dB respectively on the recorded signal strength. All retrieved reflectivity values are compared to model predictions based on Fresnel coefficients but also to avail- able ancillary truth data of other remote sensing missions to identify possible patterns: SIT relations are investigated using Level-2 data of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite. The SIC comparison was done with an AMSR-2 product. The results show sensitivity of the reflectivity value to both SIT and SIC simultaneously, whereby the surface roughness is also likely to have an influence. This on-going study aims at the consolidation of retrieval algorithms for sea-ice observation. The resolution of different ice types and the retrieval of SIT and SIC based on satellite data is a challenge for future work in this respect.

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