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In polar areas, where benthic sampling is constrained by a series of limitations imposed by climate and logistic challenges, knowledge about the key elements required to plan a successful survey is fundamental. During the International Polar Year (IPY, 2007/2008), under the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), new sampling campaigns were undertaken in several Antarctic areas comprising the Ross Sea. In this region, the 2008 NIWA IPY-CAML voyage obtained benthos samples from shelf to abyssal depths. In the present study, we focus on the Mollusca from this expedition and on the possible variations in their richness and composition with latitude and depth. Given the use of sampling gears selective for different size fractions of the macrofauna, we also assess which size fraction contained the highest biodiversity. Differences were detected in species composition with latitude (averaged across depth groups) but not for depth (averaged across latitudinal groups). Richness varied locally and showed a variety of patterns depending on the areas and depths considered. The greatest diversity of molluscs was found in the fine fraction (i.e., <4.1 mm) where a considerable number of species corresponded to new species or new regional records. Rarity was high with up to ~41% of species represented by single individuals and ~63% occurring at one station only. Fine-mesh trawling appears to be of fundamental importance in accelerating the census of the fine fraction, which is the one containing the highest diversity, and is recommended for future sampling in Antarctica and in polar areas in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The information is presented on the activity of Roshydromet in high-latitude and polar regions for providing the hydrometeorological safety of population and economy in the Arctic and presence in Antarctica as well as on its development and modernization since the 2000s and on the contribution of Roshydromet to Russian studi es and works in the framework of the International Polar Year 2007-2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supporting and training the next generation of researchers is crucial to continuous knowledge and leadership in Arctic research. An increasing number of Arctic organizations have developed initiatives to provide travel support for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to participate in workshops, conferences and meetings and to network with internationally renowned scientific leaders. However, there has been little evaluation of the effectiveness of these initiatives. As a contribution to the 3rd International Conference on Arctic Research Planning, a study was conducted to analyze the career paths of ECRs who received travel funding from the International Arctic Science Committee between the start of the International Polar Year (2007–2008) and 2013. Two surveys were used: one sent to ECRs who received IASC travel support and one as a specific event study to those unsuccessfully applied for IASC travel support to the IPY 2010 Conference. The results of the surveys indicate that travel support was beneficial to both the research and careers of the respondents, especially if the ECR was engaged with a task or responsibility at the event. Survey responses also included suggestions on how funds could be better used to support the next generation of Arctic researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The pervasive food insecurity and the diet transition away from local, nutrient-rich country foods present a public health challenge among Inuit living in the Canadian Arctic. While environmental factors such as climate change decreased the accessibility and availability of many country food species, new species were introduced into regions where they were previously unavailable. An adaptation such as turning to alternate country food species can be a viable solution to substitute for the nutrients provided by the declined food species. The objective of this study was to estimate the impact on nutrient intake using hypothetical scenarios that current commonly harvested country foods were reduced by 50%, and were replaced with alternate or new species. Methods. Data collected during the 2007–2008 Inuit Health Survey from 36 Canadian Arctic communities spanning Nunavut, the Inuvialuit Settlement Region and Nunatsiavut were used. Results. A 50% decline in consumption of fish, whale, ringed seals and birds (the food that was reported to be in decline) resulted in a significant decrease in essential nutrient intake. Possible substitute foods were identified but some nutrients such as zinc and especially vitamin D were most often found lacking in the alternative diet. Conclusions. If the alternative species are not available or feasible, more expensive and less nutritionally dense store-bought foods may be sought. Given the superior quality of country foods and their association with food security, and Inuit cultural health and personal identity, developing skills and awareness for adaptation, promoting regional sharing networks, forming a co-management agency and continuing nutritional monitoring may potentially preserve the nutritional integrity of Inuit diet, and in turn their health and cultural survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 was a synchronized effort to simultaneously collect data from polar regions. Being the fourth in a series of IPYs, the demand for interdisciplinarity and new data products was high. However, despite all the research done on land, people, ocean, ice and atmosphere and the large amount of data collected, no central archive or portal was created for IPY data. In order to improve the availability and visibility of IPY data, a concerted effort between PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science, the International Council for Science (ICSU) World Data System (WDS), and the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) was undertaken to extract data resulting from IPY publications for long-term preservation. Overall, 1380 IPY-related references were collected. Of these, only 450 contained accessible data. All data were extracted, quality checked, annotated with metadata and uploaded to PANGAEA. The 450 articles dealt with a multitude of IPY topics - plankton biomass, water chemistry, ice thickness, whale sightings, Inuit health, alien species introductions by travellers or tundra biomass change, to mention just a few. Both the Arctic and the Antarctic were investigated in the articles, and all realms (land, people, ocean, ice and atmosphere) and a wide range of countries were covered. The data compilation can now be found with the identifier doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.150150, and individual parts can be searched using the PANGAEA search engine (www.pangaea.de) and adding "+project:ipy". With this effort, we hope to improve the visibility, accessibility and long-term storage of IPY data for future research and new data products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Polar Year 2007-2008 was a synchronized effort to simultaneously collect data from polar regions. Being the fourth in a row of IPYs, the demand for interdisciplinarity and new data products was high. However, despite of all the research done on land, people, ocean, ice and atmosphere and the large amount of data collected, no central archive or portal was created for IPY data. In order to address these issues, a concerted effort between PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth and Environmental Science, the ICSU World Data System (WDS), and the International Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) was undertaken to extract data resulting from IPY publications for long-term preservation. 1380 IPY-related references were collected. Out of these, only 450 contained accessible data. All data was extracted, quality checked, annotated with metadata and uploaded to PANGAEA. The 450 articles dealt with a multitude of IPY topics - plankton biomass, water chemistry, ice thickness, whale sightings, Inuit health, alien species introductions by travelers or tundra biomass change - to mention just a few. Both, the Arctic and the Antarctic were investigated in the articles, and all realms (land, people, ocean, ice and atmosphere) and a wide range of countries were covered. The data compilation can now be found with the identifier doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.150150 and individually searched for using the PANGAEA search engine (www.pangaea.de) and adding "+project:ipy". With this effort, we hope to improve the visibility, accessibility and long-term storage of IPY data for future research and new data products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following indications of recent warming trends in the Nordic Seas, we have studied the hydrography of these marginal seas from the summer of 2007 until the fall of 2008, using observations gathered by instrumented seals and Argo floats. The combined dataset shows that the upper ocean was indeed both warmer and saltier over much of the Nordic Seas in 2007–2008 compared to the average ocean state for the period 1956–2006 (based on the World Ocean Atlas 2009). There are also indications that the surface Polar Waters of the East Greenland Current were colder and fresher than the climatology, though the quality of the climatology is questionable for this region given the low number of historical observations. Dynamic height calculations suggest that the observed hydrographic changes were associated with enhanced northward upper-ocean thermal wind transport in the east and possibly also enhanced southward transport in the west. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research data landscape of the last International Polar Year was dramatically different from its predecessors. Data scientists documented lessons learned about management of large, diverse, andinterdisciplinary datasets to inform future development and practices. Improved, iterative, and adaptive data curation and system development methods to address these challenges will be facilitated by building collaborations locally and globally across the ‘data ecosystem', thus, shaping and sustaining an international data infrastructure to fulfil modern scientific needs and societal expectations. International coordination is necessary to achieve convergence between domain-specific data systems and hence enable multidisciplinary approaches needed to solve the Global Challenges.

The Arctic Ocean boundary monitoring array has been maintained over many years by six research institutes located worldwide. Our approach to Arctic Ocean boundary measurements is generating significant scientific outcomes. However, it is not always easy to access Arctic data. On the basis of our last five years' experience of assembling pan-Arctic boundary data, and considering the success of Argo, I propose that Arctic data policy should be driven by specific scientific-based requirements. Otherwise, it will be hard to implement the International Polar Year data policy. This approach would also help to establish a consensus of future Arctic science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polar information falls into at least six categories: information about researchers, organizations, research facilities, research projects, research datasets, and publications. The management of polar research datasets has been the focus of significant attention in recent years, but it is only one piece of the polar information world. The other information types are needed to provide context to, and extract knowledge from, the raw data. Here, I discuss the possibilities for linking the various types of information categories in Canada to create a truly holistic view of Canadian Arctic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Polar Data Centre of the National Institute of Polar Research has had the responsibility to manage the data for Japan as a National Antarctic Data Centre for the last two decades. During the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008, a considerable number of multidisciplinary metadata that mainly came from IPY-endorsed projects involving Japanese activities were compiled by the data centre. Although long-term stewardship of those amalgamated metadata falls to the data centre, the efforts are in collaboration with the Global Change Master Directory, the Polar Information Commons, and the newly established World Data System of the International Council for Science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legacy of the International Polar Year 2007–2008 (IPY) includes advances in open data and meaningful progress towards interoperability of data, systems, and standards. Enabled by metadata brokering technologies and by the growing adoption of international metadata standards, federated data search welcomes diversity in Arctic data and recognizes the value of expertise in community data repositories. Federated search enables specialized data holdings to be discovered by broader audiences and complements the role of metadata registries such as the Global Change Master Directory, providing interoperability across the Arctic web-of-repositories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 2007-2009 International Polar Year (IPY) conference in Montreal, Quebec. Topics mentioned include the event organizers such as International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), climate change issues in high latitude areas, and the Plan Nord development project. It also cites the Yukon First Nation project, the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS), and the Arctic and Antarctic disciplines.

Measurements of the number concentration and size distribution of aerosol particles in the size range of 0.5-20 μm diameter were made with an aerodynamic particle sizer at an Arctic site at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard in August-September 2007 during the International Polar Year 2007-2008. Data are analyzed to study the aerosol number concentration-wind speed relationships. The sea-salt particles of marine origin generated within the Arctic circle are identified as the main source of the Arctic summer aerosols. Total number concentration of aerosol particles increases with increase in wind speed, the increase being more when winds from open leads over the oceanic sector are reaching the station as compared to when winds from pack ice in other directions are reaching the station. The larger increase with winds from the oceanic sector is attributed to the enhanced bubble-breaking activity and increased entrainment of dimethyl sulphide particles at the sea surface. Although, the increase in total aerosol number concentration associated with the winds from the oceanic sector is spread over the whole range of particle sizes, the increase in coarse mode particles is more prominent than that in the accumulation mode particles. The age of airmass over pack ice is also an important factor to determine the aerosol concentration over the Arctic region. The process of rainout/washout of the aerosol particles due to drizzle/snowfall is an effective sink mechanism in the Arctic environment. The aerosol particle concentration starts decreasing within a few minutes from the start of these events but requires a few hours to restore to the normal background aerosol level after the end of event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the LIMNOPOLAR project, which describes the ecosystems on Byers Peninsula and measure the future effects of climate change. It says that the involved scientists in the project have used the International Polar Year to recruit specialists for work on Byers Peninsula from across the Antarctic community. It mentions the Byers Peninsula is a hot spot of biological diversity due to the mild conditions and precipitation between South Africa and the Antarctic.

Between 2008 and 2010, the Arctic Oscillation index over Arctic regions shifted from positive values corresponding to more cyclonic conditions prevailing during the 4th International Polar Year (IPY) period (2007-2008) to extremely negative values corresponding to strong anticyclonic conditions in 2010. In this context, we investigated the recent large-scale evolution of the upper western Arctic Ocean, based on temperature and salinity summertime observations collected during icebreaker campaigns and from icetethered profilers (ITPs) drifting across the region in 2008 and 2010. Particularly, we focused on (1) the freshwater content which was extensively studied during previous years, (2) the near-surface temperature maximum due to incoming solar radiation, and (3) the water masses advected from the Pacific Ocean into the Arctic Ocean. The observations revealed a freshwater content change in the Canadian Basin during this time period. South of 80°N, the freshwater content increased, while north of 80°N, less freshening occurred in 2010 compared to 2008. This was more likely due to the strong anticyclonicity characteristic of a low AO index mode that enhanced both a wind-generated Ekman pumping in the Beaufort Gyre and a possible diversion of the Siberian River runoff toward the Eurasian Basin at the same time. The nearsurface temperature maximum due to incoming solar radiation was almost 1°C colder in the southern Canada Basin (south of 75°N) in 2010 compared to 2008, which contrasted with the positive trend observed during previous years. This was more likely due to higher summer sea ice concentration in 2010 compared to 2008 in that region, and surface albedo feedback reflecting more sun radiation back in space. The Pacific water (PaW) was also subjected to strong spatial and temporal variability between 2008 and 2010. In the Canada Basin, both summer and winter PaW signatures were stronger between 75°N and 80°N. This was more likely due to a strong recirculation within the Beaufort Gyre. In contrast, south of 75°N, the cooling and warming of the summer and winter PaW, respectively, suggest that either the PaW was less present in 2010 than in 2008 in this region, and/or the PaW was older in 2010 than in 2008. In addition, in the vicinity of the Chukchi Sea, both summer and winter PaW were significantly warmer in 2010 than in 2008, as a consequence of a general warming trend of the PaW entering in the deep Arctic Ocean as of 2008. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work is to introduce nonparametric kernel methods for density and regression estimation for circular data, and illustrate their use by a brief simulation study and real data application. Apart from supplying practitioners with a license free and easy to run code for the use of these methods, our aim is also to provide solutions to practical problems that may be encountered in their application. The real data examples belong to the International Polar Year project, concerned with the environmental change in the polar regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 represented a unique opportunity to further stimulate cooperation and coordination on Arctic health research and increase the awareness and visibility of Arctic regions. The Arctic Human Health Initiative (AHHI) was a US-led Arctic Council IPY coordinating project that aimed to build and expand on existing International Union for Circumpolar Health (IUCH) and Arctic Council human health interests. The project aimed to link researchers with potential international collaborators and to serve as a focal point for human health research, education, outreach and communication activities during the IPY. The progress of projects conducted as part of this initiative up until the end of the Arctic Council Swedish chairmanship in May 2013 is summarized in this report. Design. The overall goals of the AHHI was to increase awareness and visibility of human health concerns of Arctic peoples, foster human health research, and promote health strategies that will improve health and wellbeing of all Arctic residents. Proposed activities to be recognized through the initiative included: expanding research networks that will enhance surveillance and monitoring of health issues of concern to Arctic peoples, and increase collaboration and coordination of human health research; fostering research that will examine the health impact of anthropogenic pollution, rapid modernization and economic development, climate variability, infectious and chronic diseases, intentional and unintentional injuries, promoting education, outreach and communication that will focus public and political attention on Arctic health issues, using a variety of publications, printed and electronic reports from scientific conferences, symposia and workshops targeting researchers, students, communities and policy makers; promoting the translation of research into health policy and community action including implementation of prevention strategies and health promotion; and promoting synergy and strategic direction of Arctic human health research and health promotion. Results. As of 31 March, 2009, the official end of the IPY, AHHI represented a total of 38 proposals, including 21 individual Expressions of Intent (EoI), and 9 full proposals (FP), submitted to the IPY Joint Committee for review and approval from lead investigators from the US, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Russian Federation. In addition, there were 10 National Initiatives (NI-projects undertaken during IPY beyond the IPY Joint Committee review process). Individual project details can be viewed at www.arctichealth.org. The AHHI currently monitors the progress of 28 individual active human health projects in the following thematic areas: health network expansion (5 projects), infectious disease research (7 projects), environmental health research (7 projects), behavioural and mental health research (4 projects), and outreach education and communication (5 projects). Conclusions. While some projects have been completed, others will continue well beyond the IPY. The IPY 2007_2008 represented a unique opportunity to further stimulate cooperation and coordination on Arctic health research and increase the awareness and visibility of Arctic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circulation and water mass properties in the Eurasian Basin are discussed based on a review of previous research and an examination of observations made in recent years within, or parallel to, DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). The discussion is strongly biased towards observations made from icebreakers and particularly from the cruise with R/V Polarstern 2007 during the International Polar Year (IPY). Focus is on the Barents Sea inflow branch and its mixing with the Fram Strait inflow branch. It is proposed that the Barents Sea branch contributes not just intermediate water but also most of the water to the At lantic layer in the Amundsen Basin and also in the Makarov and Canada basins. Only occasionally would high temperature pulses originating from the Fram Strait branch penetrate along the Laptev Sea slope across the Gakkel Ridge into the Amundsen Basin. Interactions between the Barents Sea and the Fram Strait branches lead to formation of intrusive layers, in the Atlantic layer and in the intermediate waters. The intrusion characteristics found downstream, north of the Laptev Sea are similar to those observed in the northern Nansen Basin and over the Gakkel Ridge, suggesting a flow from the Laptev Sea towards Fram Strait. The formation mechanisms for the intrusions at the continental slope, or in the interior of the basins if they are reformed there, have not been identified. The temperature of the deep water of the Eurasian Basin has increased in the last 10 yr rather more than expected from geothermal heating. That geothermal heating does influence the deep water column was obvious from 2007 Polarstern observations made close to a hydrothermal vent in the Gakkel Ridge, where the temperature minimum usually found above the 600-800m thick homogenous bottom layer was absent. However, heat entrained from the Atlantic water into descending, saline boundary plumes may also contribute to the warming of the deeper layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique element of International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008 was the focus on sharing the excitement of ‘doing science’ with northern communities through education and outreach projects. This article reports on the perspectives of key stakeholders in Canadian IPY research projects in their pursuit to incorporate education and outreach in culturally appropriate ways. To identify the benefits, challenges, and common pitfalls when conducting researcher-led science education and outreach activities in the north Yukon, 60 qualitative interviews were conducted with IPY researchers, northern residents, and integrative science educators. Findings suggest that for southern-based research networks working in northern Indigenous communities, educational outreach is most successful in the eyes of northern educators and residents when it is regionally and culturally specific, people-focused, and led by the community's vision and needs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The circulation and water mass properties in the Eurasian Basin are discussed based on a review of previous research and an examination of observations made in recent years within, or parallel to, DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modelling and Observational Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies). The discussion is strongly biased towards observations made from icebreakers and particularly from the cruise with R/V Polarstern 2007 during the International Polar Year (IPY). Focus is on the Barents Sea inflow branch and its mixing with the Fram Strait inflow branch. It is proposed that the Barents Sea branch contributes not just intermediate water but also most of the Atlantic layer that is found in the Amundsen Basin and also in the Makarov and Canada basins. Only occasionally would high temperature pulses originating from the Fram Strait branch penetrate along the Laptev Sea slope across the Gakkel Ridge into the Amundsen Basin. Interactions between the Barents Sea and the Fram Strait branches lead to formation of intrusive layers, in the Atlantic layer and in the intermediate waters. The intrusion characteristics found downstream north of the Laptev Sea are similar to those observed in the Northern Nansen Basin and over the Gakkel Ridge, implying a flow from the Laptev Sea towards Fram Strait. The formation mechanisms for the intrusions at the continental slope, or in the interior of the basins if they are reformed there, have not been identified. The temperature of the deep water of the Eurasian Basin has increased in the last 10 yr rather more than expected from geothermal heating. That geothermal heating does influence the deep water column was obvious from 2007 Polarstern observations made close to a hydrothermal vent in the Gakkel Ridge, where the temperature minimum usually found above the 600- 800m thick homogenous bottom layer was absent. However, heat entrained from the Atlantic water into descending boundary plumes may also contribute to the warming of the deeper layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The autotrophic communities in the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, have generated interest since the early 1960s owing to low light transmission through the permanent ice covers, a strongly bimodal seasonal light cycle, constant cold water temperatures, and geographical isolation. Previous work has shown that autotrophic carbon fixation in these lakes provides an important source of organic matter to this polar desert. Lake Bonney has two lobes separated by a shallow sill and is one of several chemically stratified lakes in the dry valleys that support year-round biological activity. As part of an International Polar Year initiative, we monitored the diversity and abundance of major isoforms of RubisCO in Lake Bonney by using a combined sequencing and quantitative PCR approach during the transition from summer to polar winter. Form ID RubisCO genes related to a stramenopile, a haptophyte, and a cryptophyte were identified, while primers specific for form IA/B RubisCO detected a diverse autotrophic community of chlorophytes, cyanobacteria, and chemoautotrophic proteobacteria. Form ID RubisCO dominated phytoplankton communities in both lobes of the lake and closely matched depth profiles for photosynthesis and chlorophyll. Our results indicate a coupling between light availability, photosynthesis, and rbcL mRNA levels in deep phytoplankton populations. Regulatory control of rbcL in phytoplankton living in nutrient-deprived shallow depths does not appear to be solely light dependent. The distinct water chemistries of the east and west lobes have resulted in depth- and lobe-dependent variability in RubisCO diversity, which plays a role in transcriptional activity of the key gene responsible for carbon fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An updated set of time series of derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Ångström’s exponent α from a number of Arctic and Antarctic stations was analyzed to determine the long-term variations of these two parameters. The Arctic measurements were performed at Ny-Ålesund (1991–2010), Barrow (1977–2010) and some Siberian sites (1981–1991). The data were integrated with Level 2.0 AERONET sun-photometer measurements recorded at Hornsund, Svalbard, and Barrow for recent years, and at Tiksi for the summer 2010. The Antarctic data-set comprises sun-photometer measurements performed at Mirny (1982–2009), Neumayer (1991–2004), and Terra Nova Bay (1987–2005), and at South Pole (1977–2010). Analyses of daily mean AOD were made in the Arctic by (i) adjusting values to eliminate volcanic effects due to the El Chichón, Pinatubo, Kasatochi and Sarychev eruptions, and (ii) selecting the summer background aerosol data from those affected by forest fire smoke. Nearly null values of the long-term variation of summer background AOD were obtained at Ny-Ålesund (1991–2010) and at Barrow (1977–2010). No evidence of important variations in AOD was found when comparing the monthly mean values of AOD measured at Tiksi in summer 2010 with those derived from multi-filter actinometer measurements performed in the late 1980s at some Siberian sites. The long-term variations of seasonal mean AOD for Arctic Haze (AH) conditions and AH episode seasonal frequency were also evaluated, finding that these parameters underwent large fluctuations over the 35-year period at Ny-Ålesund and Barrow, without presenting well-defined long-term variations. A characterization of chemical composition, complex refractive index and single scattering albedo of ground-level aerosol polydispersions in summer and winter–spring is also presented, based on results mainly found in the literature. The long-term variation in Antarctic AOD was estimated to be stable, within ±0.10% per year, at the three coastal sites, and nearly null at South Pole, where a weak increase was only recently observed, associated with an appreciable decrease in α, plausibly due to the formation of thin stratospheric layers of ageing volcanic particles. The main characteristics of chemical composition, complex refractive index and single scattering albedo of Antarctic aerosols are also presented for coastal particles sampled at Neumayer and Terra Nova Bay, and continental particles at South Pole. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Meridional and vertical distributions of several biogeochemical parameters were studied along a section in the southeastern Atlantic and the Southern Ocean south of South Africa during the austral summer 2008 of the International Polar Year to characterize the biogeochemical provinces and to assess the seasonal net diatom production. Based on analyses of macro-nutrients, ammonium (NH4), chlorophyll a, (chl a) phaeopigments, biogenic silica (BSi), particulate inorganic carbon (PIC), and particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (POC and PON, respectively) four biogeochemical domains were distinguished along the section: the subtropical Atlantic, the confluence zone of the subtropical and subantarctic domains, the Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ) in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the north-eastern branch of the Weddell Gyre. The subtropical region displayed extremely low nutrient concentrations featuring oligotrophic conditions, and sub-surface maxima of chl a and phaeopigments never exceeded, 0.5 µg l-1 and 0.25 µg l-1 respectively. The anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies crossed in the Cape Basin were characterized by a deepening and a rise, respectively, 15 of the nutrients isolines. Mesoscale eddies can bring episodic pulse of nutrients into the photic zone. The confluence zone of the subtropical domain and the northern side of the ACC within the subantarctic domain displayed remnant nitrate and phosphate levels, whereas silicate concentrations kept to extremely low levels. In this area chl a level of 0.4-0.5 µg l-1 distributed homogenously within the mixed layer, and POC and PON 20 accumulated to values up to 10 µM and 1.5 µM, respectively; still indicative of biomass accumulation along the confluence zone during the late productive period. In the ACC domain, the Polar Frontal Zone was marked by a postbloom of diatoms that extended beyond the Polar Front (PF) during this late summer condition, as primarily evidenced by the massive depletion of silicic acid in the surface waters. The accumulation of NH4 25 to values up to 1.25 µM at 100m depth centred on the PF and the accumulation of BSi up to 0.5 µM in the surface waters of the central part of the PFZ also featured a late stage of the seasonal diatom bloom. Similar southward displacement of the silicic acid depletion beyond the PF has been previously observed throughout the productive period, associated with the development and extension of the seasonal bloom of diatoms. The silica daily net production rate based on the seasonal depletion of silicic acid was estimated to be 11.9±6.5 mmolm-2 d-1 in the domain of the vast diatom post-bloom, agreeing well with the previously recorded values in this province. The Weddell Gyre 5 occasionally displayed relative surface depletion of silicic acid suggesting a late stage of a relatively minor diatom bloom, possibly driven by iceberg drifting releases of iron. An accumulation of BSi up to 0.5 µM was recorded in the top 350m of the southern branch of the ACC and in the Weddell Gyre which may be seen as the presence of heavily silicified diatoms due to lack of iron in this HNLC area. In this domain the estimated range of silica daily net production rate (e.g. 21.1±8.8 mmolm-2 d-1) is consistent with previous studies, but was not significantly higher than that in the Polar Front region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights on the issues discussed at the third International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) conference in Montreal, Quebec. The author presents the global actions and polar knowledge discusses on the conference including the Arctic ice, global ocean circulation, and water acidification. He also mentions the topics on polar marine ecosystem, arctic communities, and organic carbon.

The region south of South Africa, encompassing the Aguthas Current and Retroflection, and part of the Southern Ocean, is known for its severe meteorological conditions. Because of these conditions, in-situ observations are rare. Consequently, remote-sensing satellite observations and high-resolution regional weather forecasts at the ocean surface are difficult to assess. However, atmospheric data collected in the southern hemisphere summer of 2008 during the International Polar Year-BONUS-GoodHope campaign were used to validate two satellite data sets: the twice daily QuikSCAT winds and the daily OAflux data set of latent and sensible heat fluxes. The surface winds and heat fluxes forecasts produced by a regional atmospheric model were also assessed along the ship track. In this study, we have shown that the two data sets exhibited a very good accordance with daily in-situ observations. During the campaign, the correlation coefficients for wind speed and direction were 0.97 and 0.91, respectively, and those for latent and sensible heat fluxes were 0.92 and 0.90, respectively. The QuikSCAT wind speed was underestimated by 1.37 m/s relative to in-situ data, south of the Subtropical Front. Large differences in heat fluxes in both OAflux and the atmospheric model were observed when crossing the Subtropical Front and a warm eddy, as well as during a storm, when gale force winds reached more than 20 m/S. The two data sets were then used to assess the regional model forecasts over a larger area south of South Africa, not limited to the ship track. Most of the model errors were located in a region north of the Subtropical Front, where the sea surface temperature used by the model was not accurate enough to reproduce the relevant mesoscale oceanic features driving the spatial variability of the surface winds and heat fluxes. Finally, compared to in-situ and remote sensing observations, the numerical modelling weather forecast produced realistic atmospheric conditions over the sea south of the Subtropical Front. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the hydrometric monitoring maintained within the Canadian pan-Arctic and is based on the hydrometric gauges closest to northern seas for 76 river systems throughout 1950-2008. Monitoring is quantified by compiling time series of total gauged area and discharge values from the available hydrometric records. We further evaluate the quality of hydrometric data by examining the availability of hydrometric records, the continuity of individual records, and the influence of water regulation on river systems. The maximum gauged area of the Canadian pan-Arctic was 64% in 1990 before it slowly decreased to 56% in 2008. Larger river systems typically had the most hydrometric data available, though each river system had an average of 46% of their records available. In 1998, a maximum of 22 river systems had more than 30 years of continuous records, which is the maximum attained throughout the study period. For future improvements in hydrometric monitoring, additional gauges on relatively small rivers will need to be deployed. We suggest new gauges should be implemented in the Eastern Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay and Labrador Sea basins in spite of the tremendous need for more in the Arctic Archipelago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much attention has been given to the challenges of handling massive data volumes in modern data-intensive science. This paper examines an equally daunting challenge – the diversity of interdisciplinary data, notably research data, and the need to interrelate these data to understand complex systemic problems such as environmental change and its impact. We use the experience of the International Polar Year 2007–8 (IPY) as a case study to examine data management approaches seeking to address issues around complex interdisciplinary science. We find that, while technology is a critical factor in addressing the interdisciplinary dimension of the data intensive science, the technologies developing for exa-scale data volumes differ from those that are needed for extremely distributed and heterogeneous data. Research data will continue to be highly heterogeneous and distributed and will require technologies to be much simpler and more flexible. More importantly, there is a need for both technical and cultural adaptation. We describe a vision of discoverable, open, linked, useful, and safe collections of data, organized and curated using the best principles and practices of information and library science. This vision provides a framework for our discussion and leads us to suggest several short- and long-term strategies to facilitate a socio-technical evolution in the overall science data ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The spatial distribution, biogeochemical cycle and external sources of dissolved cobalt (DCo) were investigated in the southeastern Atlantic and the Southern Ocean between 33°58′S and 57°33′S along the Greenwich Meridian during the austral summer 2008 in the framework of the International Polar Year. DCo concentrations were measured by flow-injection analysis and chemiluminescence detection in filtered (0.2μm), acidified and UV-digested samples at 12 deep stations in order to resolve the several biogeochemical provinces of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and to assess the vertical and frontal structures in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. We measured DCo ranging from 5.73±1.15 pM to 72.9±4.51 pM. The distribution of DCo was nutrient-like in surface waters of the subtropical domain with low concentrations in the euphotic layer due to biological uptake. The biological utilization of dissolved cobalt was proportional to that of phosphate in the subtropical domain with a DCo:HPO4 2− depletion ratio of ~44μMM−1. In deeper waters the distribution indicated remineralization of DCo and inputs from the margins of South Africa with lateral advection of enriched intermediate and deep waters to the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. In contrast the vertical distribution of DCo changed southward, from a nutrient-like distribution in the subtropical domain to scavenged-type behavior in the domain of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and conservative distribution in the Weddell Gyre. There the cycle of DCo featured low biological removal by Antarctic diatoms with input to surface waters by snow, removal in oxygenated surface waters, and dissolution and stabilization in the low-oxygenated Upper Circumpolar Deep Waters. DCo distributions and physical hydro-dynamics features also suggest inputs from the Drake Passage and the southwestern Atlantic to the 0° meridian along the eastward flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Bottom enrichment of DCo in the Antarctic Bottom Waters was also evident, together with increasing water-mass pathway and aging, possibly due to sediment resuspension and/or mixing with North Atlantic Deep waters in the Cape Basin. Overall atmospheric input of soluble Co by dry aerosols to the surface waters was low but higher in the ACC domain than in the northern part of the section. At the highest latitudes, it is possible that snowfall could be a source of DCo to surface waters. Tentative budgets for DCo in the mixed layer of the subtropical and the ACC domains have been constructed for each biogeochemical region encountered during the cruise. The estimated DCo uptake flux was found to be the dominant cobalt flux along the section. This flux decreases southward, which is consistent with the observations that DCo shows a southward transition from nutrient-like towards conservative distribution in the mixed layer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Monitoring of permafrost has been ongoing since 1978 in the Abisko area, northernmost Sweden, when measurements of active layer thickness started. In 1980, boreholes were drilled in three mires in the area to record permafrost temperatures. Recordings were made twice per year, and the last data were obtained in 2002. During the International Polar Year (2007-2008), new boreholes were drilled within the 'Back to the Future' (BTF) and 'Thermal State of Permafrost' (TSP) projects that enabled year-round temperature monitoring. Mean annual ground temperatures (MAGT) in the mires are close to 0°C, ranging from −0.16 to −0.47°C at 5 m depth. Data from the boreholes show increasing ground temperatures in the upper and lower part by 0.4 to 1°C between 1980 and 2002. At one mire, permafrost thickness has decreased from 15 m in 1980 to ca. 9 m in 2009, with an accelerating thawing trend during the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) mission during 2008 as a part of the International Polar Year (IPY). The purpose of ARCTAS was to study the factors responsible for changes in the Arctic's atmospheric composition and climate. A major emphasis was to investigate Arctic haze, which is most pronounced during winter and early spring. This study focuses on the spring phase of ARCTAS (ARCTAS-A) that was based in Alaska during April 2008. Although anthropogenic emissions historically have been associated with Arctic haze, biomass burning emissions dominated the ARCTAS-A period and have been the focus of many ARCTAS related studies. This study determines mean transport characteristics of anthropogenic emissions during ARCTAS-A. Trajectories are initiated each day from three significant regions of anthropogenic emissions (Asia, North America, and Europe). The fifteen day forward trajectories are calculated using data from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at 45 km horizontal resolution. The trajectory calculations indicate: origins of emissions that reach the Arctic (defined as north of 70° N) within fifteen days, pathways of these emissions, Arctic entry locations, and altitudes at which the trajectories enter the Arctic. Three cases during the ARCTAS-A period (one for each of the regions above) are examined using backward trajectories and chemical fingerprinting based on in situ data sampled from the NASA DC-8. The fingerprinting utilizes volatile organic compounds that represent pure anthropogenic tracers, Asian anthropogenic pollution, incomplete combustion, and natural gas emissions. We determine flight legs containing anthropogenic emissions and the pathways travelled by these emissions. Results show that the DC-8 sampled anthropogenic emissions from Asia, North America, and Europe during the spring phase of ARCTAS. The pathways travelled by these emissions agree with our derived transport characteristics and previous studies of Arctic transport. Meteorological analysis and trajectory calculations indicate that middle latitude cyclones and their associated warm conveyor belts play an important role in lofting the surface based emissions to their sampling altitude in all three cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the 4th International Polar Year 2007–2009 (IPY), it has become increasingly obvious that we need to prepare for a new era in the Arctic. IPY occurred during the time of the largest retreat of Arctic sea ice since satellite observations started in 1979. This minimum in September sea ice coverage was accompanied by other signs of a changing Arctic, including the unexpectedly rapid transpolar drift of the Tara schooner, a general thinning of Arctic sea ice and a double-dip minimum of the Arctic Oscillation at the end of 2009. Thanks to the lucky timing of the IPY, those recent phenomena are well documented as they have been scrutinized by the international research community, taking advantage of the dedicated observing systems that were deployed during IPY. However, understanding changes in the Arctic System likely requires monitoring over decades, not years. Many IPY projects have contributed to the pilot phase of a future, sustained, observing system for the Arctic. We now know that many of the technical challenges can be overcome. The Norwegian projects iAOOS-Norway, POLEWARD and MEOP were significant ocean monitoring/research contributions during the IPY. A large variety of techniques were used in these programs, ranging from oceanographic cruises to animal-borne platforms, autonomous gliders, helicopter surveys, surface drifters and current meter arrays. Our research approach was interdisciplinary from the outset, merging ocean dynamics, hydrography, biology, sea ice studies, as well as forecasting. The datasets are tremendously rich, and they will surely yield numerous findings in the years to come. Here, we present a status report at the end of the official period for IPY. Highlights of the research include: a quantification of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the Nordic Seas (“the loop”) in thermal space, based on a set of up to 15-year-long series of current measurements; a detailed map of the surface circulation as well as characterization of eddy dispersion based on drifter data; transport monitoring of Atlantic Water using gliders; a view of the water mass exchanges in the Norwegian Atlantic Current from both Eulerian and Lagrangian data; an integrated physical–biological view of the ice-influenced ecosystem in the East Greenland Current, showing for instance nutrient-limited primary production as a consequence of decreasing ice cover for larger regions of the Arctic Ocean. Our sea ice studies show that the albedo of snow on ice is lower when snow cover is thinner and suggest that reductions in sea ice thickness, without changes in sea ice extent, will have a significant impact on the arctic atmosphere. We present up-to-date freshwater transport numbers for the East Greenland Current in the Fram Strait, as well as the first map of the annual cycle of freshwater layer thickness in the East Greenland Current along the east coast of Greenland, from data obtained by CTDs mounted on seals that traveled back and forth across the Nordic Seas. We have taken advantage of the real-time transmission of some of these platforms and demonstrate the use of ice-tethered profilers in validating satellite products of sea ice motion, as well as the use of Seagliders in validating ocean forecasts, and we present a sea ice drift product – significantly improved both in space and time – for use in operational ice-forecasting applications. We consider real-time acquisition of data from the ocean interior to be a vital component of a sustained Arctic Ocean Observing System, and we conclude by presenting an outline for an observing system for the European sector of the Arctic Ocean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study which examines the ice-dynamic transitions of the ice sheet in Antarctica. The participants of the International Polar Year 2007-2009 project Antarctic Surface Accumulation and Ice Discharge (ASAID) use a customized software to map the boundary of grounded ice features and the boundary of freely floating ice shelves. It is found out that the freely-floating boundary assumes the landward position on ice shelves reflecting the amplitude of oscillating ocean tides.

Abstract: The 2007 International Polar Year (IPY) in the Antarctic was distinguished by strong regional and seasonal ice-atmosphere-ocean anomalies associated with an overall weakening of the prevailing westerly circulation. Here we assess the ice-atmosphere-ocean conditions leading up to and during two IPY field campaigns that took place in early spring (September-October): the U.S.-led Sea Ice Mass Balance Antarctica (SIMBA, 68-72°S, 90-95°W) and the Australian-led Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystems eXperiment (SIPEX, 63-67°S, 115-130°E). Our regional analysis is presented within the context of circumpolar and inter-annual variability relevant to other IPY Antarctic studies. Using satellite-derived and numerically analyzed surface and atmospheric variables, we examine relationships between (i) winds and sea-ice concentration and drift, (ii) sea-surface temperature and ice-edge anomalies, and (iii) precipitation and snow accumulation. Though Antarctic-averaged sea-ice extent in September 2007 was the second highest observed for 1979-2007, the SIMBA and SIPEX studies sampled the two regions showing the largest negative sea-ice anomalies in the Southern Ocean. Maps of sea-surface temperature (SST) and sea-ice concentration (SIC) anomalies revealed distinct regional patterns, showing warm SST/low SIC in the greater SIMBA (including all of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas) and western SIPEX regions, versus cool SST/high SIC in the Weddell, Ross and eastern SIPEX regions. In the SIMBA and western SIPEX regions, warm northerly winds in May (overlying the warm SSTs) brought anomalously high precipitation to those regions, but due to the regional delays in sea-ice advance (by up to 2 months), most fell on open ocean, which in turn contributed to negative and near-zero September snow depth anomalies in those two regions, respectively. During autumn (March to May), warm SSTs offshore of those regions extended from mid-to-high latitudes, resulting from meridional advection of heat associated with a wave-3 atmospheric circulation pattern. In the SIMBA and SIPEX regions, the late sea-ice advance followed unusually long ice-free summer periods, which suggests that solar ocean warming was relatively high in those regions. The warm ocean conditions may help to explain why the ice edge remained well south of its mean position despite instances during winter of cold southerly winds and northward sea-ice drift. Finally, with respect to the 1978-2008 record, year 2007 was a continuation of decreasing sea ice in the SIMBA region (e.g., decreased annual sea-ice extent and ice season duration), whereas in the SIPEX region, year 2007 was a negative departure from an otherwise slightly positive trend in annual sea-ice extent and ice season duration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Coordinated, circum-Antarctic sampling expeditions during International Polar Year 2008/09 have given access to comprehensive collections suitable for DNA barcoding. Collaborations between the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), the Marine Barcode of Life project and the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding have enabled the Antarctic scientific community to initiate large-scale DNA barcoding projects to record the genetic diversity of Antarctic marine fauna, coordinated by the CAML Barcoding Campaign. A total of 20,355 marine specimens from more than 2,000 morphospecies covering 18 phyla are in the processing pipeline, and to date, 11,530 sequences have been processed with the remainder due by the end of 2010. Here, we present results on the current geographic and taxonomic coverage of DNA barcode data in the Southern Ocean and identify the remaining gaps. We show how DNA barcoding in the Antarctic is answering important questions regarding marine genetic diversity and challenging current assumptions of species distribution at the poles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An International Polar Year aerogeophysical investigation of the high interior of East Antarctica reveals widespread freeze-on that drives substantial mass redistribution at the bottom of the ice sheet. Although the surface accumulation of snow remains the primary mechanism for ice sheet growth, beneath Dome A, 24% of the base by area is frozen-on ice. In some places, up to half of the ice thickness has been added from below. These ice packages result from the conductive cooling of water ponded near the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountain ridges and the supercooling of water forced up steep valley walls. Persistent freeze-on thickens the ice column, alters basal ice rheology and fabric, and upwarps the overlying ice sheet, including the oldest atmospheric climate archive, and drives flow behavior not captured in present models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inuit knowledge of the sea ice environment has been praised by generations of early explorers, arctic travellers, natural scientists, anthropologists, and popular writers. Surprisingly little has been done to systematically document and analyze the richness of the Inuit sea ice nomenclatures until quite recently. This article reviews the history of Inuit (Eskimo) sea ice terminology collection, including efforts undertaken in 2005-2009 for the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008. Altogether, a database of 35 indigenous ice nomenclatures from the Bering Sea to East Greenland has been created, displaying the richness of over 1,500 terms for sea ice in all Inuit/Eskimo languages and most regional dialects, as well as in other indigenous northern languages (Chukchi, Dena'ina Athabascan, and Sámi). Processing these vocabularies, analyzing the origins and historical geography of the Inuit sea ice nomenclatures, and returning the data to participating communities as educational, heritage, and language materials may become one of the lasting contributions of the IPY 2007-2008 program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Igliniit Project brought together Inuit hunters and geomatics engineering students during the International Polar Year (IPY) to collaborate on the development and testing of a new integrated GPS/PDA/mobile weather station technology for observing and monitoring the environment. Part of the larger Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project (ISIUOP), the Igliniit Project culminated in a tangible product that is the direct result of combined scientific and Inuit knowledge, ingenuity, and engineering. This paper describes the Igliniit Project and examines the resulting technology as (i) an artifact of Inuit knowledge, science and engineering collaboration; (ii) a tool for meaningful engagement of Inuit in environmental science and community-based monitoring; (iii) a new approach and tool in the field of indigenous mapping; and (iv) an example of one technology in the expanding ecology of technologies in everyday Inuit life. The technology requires improvements in hardware and further development of supporting systems such as data management and mapping capability, but there is potential for the Igliniit Project approach and system to have wide appeal across the North for a variety of applications including environmental monitoring, wildlife studies, land use mapping, hazards research, place names research, archaeological and cultural inventories, and search and rescue operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Polar Year (2007-2008) (IPY) established an IPY data policy that guides a formal data management (DM) process. The DM system envisioned includes data based on Indigenous knowledge systems linked to data collected in the Western scientific tradition. Based on experiences developing an online Atlas of Inuit Sea Ice Knowledge and Use (Siku Atlas) we argue that an 'Indigenist' DM program must be developed if the envisioned IPY DM system is to be realized. Existing ideas proposing an Indigenist research paradigm are discussed in the context of DM. To move towards the development and implementation of an Indigenist DM program, we review four key relationships for consideration when documenting Indigenous knowledge and managing the resulting data: Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge systems; communities and researchers; Indigenous knowledge and power; and Indigenous knowledge and documentation methods. To ground the discussion, we link Indigenist DM processes to the Siku Atlas development process and results. Last, lessons learned are presented along with an outline of directions for a research program in support of an Indigenist DM program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipboard measurements of organohalogen compounds in air and surface seawater were conducted in the Canadian Arctic in 2007-2008. Study areas included the Labrador Sea, Hudson Bay, and the southern Beaufort Sea. High volume air samples were collected at deck level (6 m), while low volume samples were taken at 1 and 15 m above the water or ice surface. Water samples were taken within 7 m. Water concentration ranges (pg L1) were as follows: α-hexachlo-rocyclohexane (α-HCH) 465-1013, γ-HCH 150-254, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) 4.0-6.4, 2,4-dibromoanisole (DBA) 8.5-38, and 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) 4.7-163. Air concentration ranges (pg m-3) were as follows: α-HCH 7.5-48, γ-HCH 2.1-7.7, HCB 48-71, DBA 4.8-25, and TBA 6.4 - 39. Fugacity gradients predicted net deposition of HCB in all areas, while exchange directions varied for the other chemicals by season and locations. Net evasion of α-HCH from Hudson Bay and the Beaufort Sea during open water conditions was shown by air concentrations that averaged 14% higher at 1 m than 15 m. No significant difference between the two heights was found over ice cover. The α-HCH in air over the Beaufort Sea was racemic in winter (mean enantiomer fraction, EF = 0.504 ± 0.008) and nonracemic in late spring-early summer (mean EF = 0.476 ± 0.010). This decrease in EF was accompanied by a rise in air concentrations due to volatilization of nonracemic α-HCH from surface water (EF = 0.457 ± 0.019). Fluxes of chemicals during the southern Beaufort Sea open water season (i.e., Leg 9) were estimated using the Whitman two-film model, where volatilization fluxes are positive and deposition fluxes are negative. The means ± SD (and ranges) of net fluxes (ng m-2 d-1) were as follows: α-HCH 6.8 ± 3.2 (2.7-13), γ-HCH 0.76 ± 0.40 (0.26-1.4), HCB -9.6 ± 2.7 (-6.1 to -15), DBA 1.2 ± 0.69 (0.04-2.0), and TBA 0.46 ± 1.1 ng m-2 d-1 (-1.6 to 2.0). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of background aerosols and their dependence on meteorological, geographical and human influence are examined using measured spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD), total mass concentration (MT) and derived number size distribution (NSD) over two distinct coastal locations of Antarctica; Maitri (70° S, 12° E, 123 m m.s.l.) and Larsemann Hills (LH; 69° S, 77° E, 48 m m.s.l.) during southern hemispheric summer of 2007-2008 as a part of the 27th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA) during International Polar Year (IPY). Our investigations showed comparable values for the mean columnar AOD at 500 nm over Maitri (0.034±0.005) and LH (0.032±0.006) indicating good spatial homogeneity in the columnar aerosol properties over the coastal Antarctica. Estimation of Angstrom exponent α showed accumulation mode dominance at Maitri (α ~1.2±0.3) and coarse mode dominance at LH (0.7±0.2). On the other hand, mass concentration (MT) of ambient aerosols showed relatively high values (≈8.25±2.87 μgm-3) at Maitri in comparison to LH (6.03±1.33 μgm-3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Downwelling and upwelling shortwave and longwave radiation components from six active polar sites, taking part of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), were selected for the period of the last International Polar Year (March 2007 to March 2009), and included in the BSRN-IPY dataset, along with metadata and supplementary data for some of the stations. Two sites, located at Svalbard archipelago (Ny Ålesund) and Alaska (Barrow), represent Arctic sea-level conditions. Four Antarctic stations represent both sea-level (Dronning Maud Land and Cosmonaut Sea) and high-elevation conditions (South Pole and East Antarctic Plateau). The BSRN-IPY dataset content and quality are discussed. The dataset is now available at doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.737668, and can be used for free after accepting the BSRN data release guidelines. The dataset has been summarized as monthly averages and subject to further evaluation according to strict criteria not previously applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The panarctic region is tightly connected to subarctic regions by through-flowing Atlantic and Pacific water masses and, as such, local changes in ice cover, ocean properties and ecosystem dynamics cannot be fully understood separately from large-scale oceanographic structures and advective processes. The Canadian International Polar Year (IPY) project Canada's Three Oceans (C3O) and the related Joint Ocean Ice Study (JOIS) have collected oceanographic data along a transit extending around northern North America to establish an initial, large-scale baseline against which present and future changes can be gauged. Special focus was given to the shelf and the basin regions of the Canada Basin and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. We use the first results from physical and geochemical data obtained during the summer of 2007 to discuss linkages between the Arctic and Subarctic domains and trace the cascade of key processes that affect contemporary ocean structure. A review of the literature, combined with these observations, is used to identify early signs of ongoing change throughout the three oceans surrounding northern North America including ocean warming and freshening, seaice melting, increased hypoxia, reduced pH and altered biogeography.[Traduit par la rédaction] L'Arctique boréal est étroitement raccordé au subarctique par des flux transversaux de masses d'eau atlantique et pacifique et, de ce fait, on ne peut pas expliquer complètement les changements locaux dans la couverture de glace, dans les propriétés de l'océan et dans la dynamique des écosystèmes sans tenir compte des structures et des processus d'advection océanographiques à grande échelle. Le projet canadien Les trois océans du Canada (C3O) de l'Année polaire internationale (API) et la Joint Ocean Ice Study (JOIS) connexe ont recueilli des données océanographiques le long d'un trajet contournant le nord de l'Amérique du Nord afin d'établir une base de référence initiale à grande échelle pouvant permettre d'évaluer les changements présents et futurs. On a porté une attention spéciale aux régions de plate-forme continentale et de bassin du Bassin Canada et de l'archipel Arctique canadien. Cet article présente les premiers résultats des données physiques et géochimiques obtenues durant l'été 2007 pour expliciter les liens entre les domaines arctiques et subarctiques et décrire la cascade de processus clés qui influencent la structure océanique contemporaine. Nous examinons la documentation, que nous utilisons de pair avec ces observations, pour identifier les signes avant-coureurs des changements en cours dans les trois océans bordant le nord de l'Amérique du Nord, notamment le réchauffement et le refroidissement des océans, la fonte de la glace de mer, l'accroissement de l'hypoxie, la réduction du pH et la modification de la biogéographie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Circumpolar Flaw Lead (CFL) system study is a Canadian-led International Polar Year (IPY) initiative with over 350 participants from 27 countries. The study is multidisciplinary in nature, integrating physical sciences, biological sciences and Inuvialuit traditional knowledge. The CFL study is designed to investigate the importance of changing climate processes in the flaw lead system of the northern hemisphere on the physical, biogeochemical and biological components of the Arctic marine system. The circumpolar flaw lead is a perennial characteristic of the Arctic throughout the winter season and forms when the mobile multi-year (MY) pack ice moves away from coastal fast ice, creating recurrent and interconnected polynyas in the Norwegian, Icelandic, North American and Siberian sectors of the Arctic. The CFL study was 293 days in duration and involved the overwintering of the Canadian research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen in the Cape Bathurst flaw lead throughout the annual sea-ice cycle of 2007-2008.In this paper we provide an introduction to the CFL project and then use preliminary data from the field season to describe the physical flaw lead system, as observed during the CFL overwintering project. Preliminary data show that ocean circulation is affected by eddy propagation into Amundsen Gulf (AG). Upwelling features arising along the ice edge and along abrupt topography are also detected and identified as important processes that bring nutrient rich waters up to the euphotic zone. Analysis of sea-ice relative vorticity and sea-ice area by ice type in the AG during the CFL study illustrates increased variability in ice vorticity in late autumn 2007 and an increase in new and young ice areas in the AG during winter. Analysis of atmospheric data show that a strong northeast-southwest pressure gradient present over the AG in autumn may be a synoptic-scale atmospheric response to sensible and latent heat fluxes arising from areas of open water persisting into late November 2007. The median atmospheric boundary layer temperature profile over the Cape Bathurst flaw lead during the winter season was stable but much less so when compared to Russian ice island stations.[Traduit par la rédaction] L'étude du système du chenal de séparation circumpolaire (CSC) est une initiative de l'Année polaire internationale (API) menée par le Canada et à laquelle 350 participants provenant de 27 pays ont pris part. L'étude, de nature multidisciplinaire, fait appel aux sciences physiques et biologiques ainsi qu'au savoir traditionnel Inuvialuit. L'étude du CSC vise à examiner les répercussions des processus climatiques changeants dans le système du chenal de séparation de l'hémisphère Nord sur les composantes physiques, biogéochimiques et biologiques du système marin arctique. Le CSC est une caractéristique permanente de l'Arctique durant la saison d'hiver et se forme quand la banquise mobile de glace de plusieurs années s'éloigne de la banquise côtière fixe en créant des polynies récurrentes et interconnectées dans les secteurs norvégien, islandais, nord-américain et sibérien de l'Arctique. Pour mener l'étude du CSC, qui a duré 293 jours, le brise-glace de recherche canadien NGCC Amundsen est demeuré dans le chenal de séparation du cap Bathurst tout l'hiver, c'est-à-dire pendant tout le cycle annuel des glaces de mer de 2007-2008.Dans cet article, nous fournissons une introduction au projet du CSC, puis nous utilisons les données préliminaires de la saison sur le terrain pour décrire le système physique du chenal de séparation, tel qu'observé durant l'hiver du projet du CSC. Les données préliminaires montrent que la circulation océanique est influencée par la propagation de tourbillon dans le golfe d'Amundsen (GA). Des caractéristiques de remontée d'eau le long de la lisière des glaces et le long d'éléments topographiques abrupts ont aussi été observées et identifiées comme des processus importants apportant des eaux riches en nutriments jusqu'à la zone euphotique. L'analyse de la vorticité relative de la glace de mer et de la superficie de la glace de mer par type dans le GA durant l'étude du CSC révèle une variabilité accrue dans la vorticité de la glace à la fin de l'automne 2007 et un accroissement des superficies de nouvelle et de jeune glace dans le GA durant l'hiver. L'analyse des données atmosphériques montre que la présence d'un fort gradient de pression nord est - sud ouest au-dessus du GA en automne peut être une réponse atmosphérique d'échelle synoptique aux flux de chaleur sensible et latente à partir des zones d'eaux libres qui ont persisté jusque vers la fin de novembre 2007. Le profil thermique de la couche limite atmosphérique médiane au-dessus du chenal de séparation du cap Bathurst durant la saison hivernale était stable, mais beaucoup moins que les profils observés aux stations des îles de glace russes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Here we report the first optical, sensor-based profiles of nitrate from the central Makarov and Amundsen and southern Canada Basins of the Arctic Ocean. These profiles were obtained as part of the International Polar Year program during spring 2007 and 2008 field seasons of the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO) and Beaufort Gyre Exploration Program (BGEP). These nitrate data were combined with in-situ, sensor-based profiles of dissolved oxygen to derive the first high-resolution vertical NO profiles to be reported for the Arctic Ocean. The focus of this paper is on the halocline layer that insulates sea ice from Atlantic water heat and is an important source of nutrients for marine ecosystems within and downstream of the Arctic. Previous reports based on bottle data have identified a distinct lower halocline layer associated with an NO minimum at about S=34.2 that was proposed to be formed initially in the Nansen Basin and then advected downstream. Greater resolution afforded by our data reveal an even more pronounced NO minimum within the upper, cold halocline of the Makarov Basin. Thus a distinct lower salinity source ventilated the Makarov and not the Amundsen Basin. In addition, a larger Eurasian River water influence overlies this halocline source in the Makarov. Observations in the southern Canada Basin corroborate previous studies confirming multiple lower halocline influences including diapycnal mixing between Pacific winter waters and Atlantic-derived lower halocline waters, ventilation via brine formation induced in persistent openings in the ice, and cold, O2-rich lower halocline waters originating in the Eurasian Basin. These findings demonstrate that continuous sensing of chemical properties promises to significantly advance understanding of the maintenance and circulation of the halocline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique dataset of atmospheric observations over the Nordic Seas has been analyzed to investigate the role of convective available potential energy (CAPE) for the energetics of polar lows. The observations were made during the flight campaign of the Norwegian International Polar Year (IPY) and The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) in February and March 2008, which specifically targeted polar lows. The data reveal virtually no conditional instability and very limited CAPE. It is suggested that the significance of CAPE values should be assessed by calculating the time scale tCAPE that is necessary for the heat fluxes from the ocean to transfer the corresponding amount of energy. Even the largest CAPE values have a tCAPE of less than 1 h. These CAPE values are associated with unconditional instability. It is concluded that the observed CAPE should be seen as a temporary stage in an energy flux rather than as an energy reservoir. Based on the findings in this investigation, it is proposed that significant reservoirs of CAPE over the marine Arctic atmosphere are impossible since CAPE production will automatically trigger convection and CAPE is consumed as it is produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]