Search

The North Water Polynya is one of the most productive Arctic regions on Earth, sustaining the world's northernmost Inuit communities for millennia. The polynya is a large and persistent region of open water surrounded by sea ice and exhibits high primary productivity, is a biodiversity hotspot, and is a key habitat and migration corridor for Arctic species. Many aspects of the ecosystem structure and the role of resident species in the North Water Polynya remain uncertain. To shed light on these, we developed the first representation of the North Water Polynya food web using the Ecopath modelling framework. Modelled trophic flows indicated that pelagic and benthic communities were primarily connected by Age 1+ Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), walrus (Odobenus rosmarus), and ringed seal (Pusa hispida). Large copepods, Age 1+ Arctic cod, and bivalves were key prey species. Overall productivity in the North Water Polynya was higher compared to Western Baffin Bay and Western Greenland, corroborating expectations of relatively high productivity within the polynya. This model provides a baseline description of the North Water Polynya ecosystem structure and function prior to future climate-driven food web changes and the emergence of large-scale commercial fisheries.

The Pikialasorsuaq (North Water polynya) is an area of local and global cultural and ecological significance. However, over the last decades, the region has been subject to rapid warming, and in some recent years, the seasonal ice arch that has historically defined the polynya's northern boundary has failed to form. Both factors are deemed to alter the polynya's ecosystem functioning. To understand how climate‐induced changes to the Pikialasorsuaq impact the basis of the marine food web, we explored diatom community‐level responses to changing conditions, from a sediment core spanning the last 3800 years. Four metrics were used: total diatom concentrations, taxonomic composition, mean size, and diversity. Generalized additive model statistics highlight significant changes at ca. 2400, 2050, 1550, 1200, and 130 cal years BP, all coeval with known transitions between colder and warmer intervals of the Late Holocene, and regime shifts in the Pikialasorsuaq. Notably, a weaker/contracted polynya during the Roman Warm Period and Medieval Climate Anomaly caused the diatom community to reorganize via shifts in species composition, with the presence of larger taxa but lower diversity, and significantly reduced export production. This study underlines the high sensitivity of primary producers to changes in the polynya dynamics and illustrates that the strong pulse of early spring cryopelagic diatoms that makes the Pikialasorsuaq exceptionally productive may be jeopardized by rapid warming and associated Nares Strait ice arch destabilization. Future alterations to the phenology of primary producers may disproportionately impact higher trophic levels and keystone species in this region, with implications for Indigenous Peoples and global diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Atmosphere -- Ocean (Taylor & Francis Ltd) is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Intense, southward low-level winds are common in Nares Strait, between Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland. The steep topography along Nares Strait leads to channelling effects, resulting in an along-strait flow. This research study presents a 30-year climatology of the flow regime from simulations of the COSMO-CLM climate model. The simulations are available for the winter periods (November–April) 1987/88 to 2016/17, and thus, cover a period long enough to give robust long-term characteristics of Nares Strait. The horizontal resolution of 15 km is high enough to represent the complex terrain and the meteorological conditions realistically. The 30-year climatology shows that LLJs associated with gap flows are a climatological feature of Nares Strait. The maximum of the mean 10-m wind speed is around 12 m s-1 and is located at the southern exit of Smith Sound. The wind speed is strongly related to the pressure gradient. Single events reach wind speeds of 40 m s-1 in the daily mean. The LLJs are associated with gap flows within the narrowest parts of the strait under stably stratified conditions, with the main LLJ occurring at 100–250 m height. With increasing mountain Froude number, the LLJ wind speed and height increase. The frequency of strong wind events (>20 m s-1 in the daily mean) for the 10 m wind shows a strong interannual variability with an average of 15 events per winter. Channelled winds have a strong impact on the formation of the North Water polynya.

There is an imminent need to collect information on distribution and abundance of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to understand how they are affected by the ongoing decrease in Arctic sea ice. The Kane Basin (KB) subpopulation is a group of high-latitude polar bears that ranges between High Arctic Canada and NW Greenland around and north of the North Water polynya (NOW). We conducted a line transect distance sampling aerial survey of KB polar bears during 28 April–12 May 2014. A total of 4160 linear kilometers were flown in a helicopter over fast ice in the fjords and over offshore pack ice between 76° 50′ and 80° N′. Using a mark-recapture distance sampling protocol, the estimated abundance was 190 bears (95% lognormal CI: 87–411; CV 39%). This estimate is likely negatively biased to an unknown degree because the offshore sectors of the NOW with much open water were not surveyed because of logistical and safety reasons. Our study demonstrated that aerial surveys may be a feasible method for obtaining abundance estimates for small subpopulations of polar bears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intense, southward low-level winds are common in Nares Strait, between Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland. The steep topography along Nares Strait leads to channelling effects, resulting in an along-strait flow. This research study presents a 30-year climatology of the flow regime from simulations of the COSMO-CLM climate model. The simulations are available for the winter periods (November-April) 1987/88 to 2016/17, and thus, cover a period long enough to give robust long-term characteristics of Nares Strait. The horizontal resolution of 15 km is high enough to represent the complex terrain and the meteorological conditions realistically. The 30-year climatology shows that LLJs associated with gap flows are a climatological feature of Nares Strait. The maximum of the mean 10-m wind speed is around 12 m s-1 and is located at the southern exit of Smith Sound. The wind speed is strongly related to the pressure gradient. Single events reach wind speeds of 40 m s-1 in the daily mean. The LLJs are associated with gap flows within the narrowest parts of the strait under stably stratified conditions, with the main LLJ occurring at 100-250 m height. With increasing mountain Froude number, the LLJ wind speed and height increase. The frequency of strong wind events (>20 m s-1 in the daily mean) for the 10 m wind shows a strong interannual variability with an average of 15 events per winter. Channelled winds have a strong impact on the formation of the North Water polynya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea, Phipps, 1774), one of the world's least-known species, have declined throughout their range in recent years. This study describes the patterns of ivory gull use of the North Water polynya, a large polynya that occurs every year near ivory gull breeding sites on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. We conducted at-sea surveys from Canadian icebreakers during the summers of 1997-99. In 1998, stomach contents of five ivory gulls were analyzed. We measured stable isotope ratios (δ 13C, δ 15N) of liver, muscle, feather and bone to determine how ivory gull diets vary during the year. We observed a total of 275 individuals, most of which were seen on the western side of the polynya. Flying was the predominant behavior (76% of individuals); other behaviors included sitting on ice, sitting on water, and feeding. Four juveniles were seen in August and September. Birds collected had arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) in their stomachs. Other food items included an otolith from an unidentified species of Liparid fish and two bones from a mole, presumed to be a star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata). Stable isotope results indicated that ivory gull trophic levels (TLs) were high (around TL 4 based on δ 15N) but varied over the season. From the three individuals whose feathers were analyzed, we conclude that differences among individuals in their winter diets or foraging locations are possible. © The Arctic Institute of North America.

Nares Strait is the northern most outflow gateway of the Arctic Ocean, with a direct connection to the remaining multi-year ice covered central Arctic Ocean. Nares Strait itself flows into the historically highly productive North Water Polynya (Pikialasorsuaq). Satellite data show that Nares Strait ice is retreating earlier in the season. The early season surface chlorophyll signal, which was a characteristic of the North Water, has also moved north into Nares Strait. However, given the vast differences in the hydrography and physical oceanographic structure of the North Water and Nares Strait there is no a priori reason to assume that the species assemblages and overall productivity of this region between Greenland and Canada will be maintained in the face of ongoing sea ice decline. The North Water’s high marine mammal and bird populations are dependent on seasonally persistent diatom dominated phytoplankton productivity, and although there have been several studies on North Water phytoplankton, virtually nothing is known about the communities in Nares Strait. Here we investigated the microbial eukaryotes, including phytoplankton in Nares Strait using high-throughput amplicon sequencing. Samples were collected from Kennedy Channel below the northern ice edge of Nares Strait through the Kane Basin and into the northern limit of the North Water. The physical oceanographic structure and initial community rapidly changed between the faster flowing Kennedy Channel and the comparatively wider shallower Kane Basin. The community changes were evident in both the upper euphotic zone and the deeper aphotic zone. Heterotrophic taxa were found in the deeper waters along with ice algae that would have originated further to the north following release from the ice. Although there was a high proportion of pan-Arctic species throughout, the Nares Strait system showed little in common with the Northern North Water station, suggesting a lack of connectivity. We surmise that a direct displacement of the rich North Water ecosystem is not likely to occur. Overall our study supported the notion that the microbial eukaryotic community, which supports ecosystem function and secondary productivity is shaped by a balance of historic and current processes, which differed by seascape.

Copepod lipids fuel the Arctic marine ecosystem, but information on the fine-scale distribution of copepods and lipids is nonexistent. This study investigated the fine-scale (1 m) vertical distribution of the copepods Calanus hyperboreus, Calanus glacialis and Metridia longa during a Lagrangian drift in the North Water Polynya using the Lightframe On-sight Keyspecies Investigation (LOKI) imaging system. A copepod species- and stage-specific automatic identification model based on machine learning, a subcategory of artificial intelligence, was used to identify images taken by LOKI. Lipids were measured from images of copepods taken over the whole water column (1m resolution). Diel vertical migration (DVM) in all three species was detected. In C. hyperboreus and C. glacialis C4-females as well as M. longa C5-females lipid load of deep copepod individuals was significantly higher than that of shallower individuals. Vertical distribution profiles and individual lipid loads suggested that individuals with lower lipid load continued DVM, while others with high lipid load ceased migrating, remaining at depth. Calanus hyperboreus individuals seemed to migrate to diapause at lower lipid fullness (50%) than C. glacialis (60%). A bioenergetics model showed that Calanus females had enough lipids to diapause for over a year, highlighting the significant lipid overhead they use for capital breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The little auk is the most numerous seabird in the North Atlantic and its most important breeding area is the eastern shores of the North Water polynya. Here, a population of an estimated 33 million pairs breeds in huge colonies and significantly shapes the ecosystem. Archaeological remains in the colonies document that the little auk has been harvested over millennia. Anthropological research discloses how the little auk has a role both as social engineer and as a significant resource for the Inughuit today. The hunting can be practiced without costly equipment, and has no gender and age discrimination in contrast to the dominant hunt for marine mammals. Little auks are ecological engineers in the sense that they transport vast amounts of nutrients from sea to land, where the nutrients are deposited as guano. Here, the fertilized vegetation provides important foraging opportunities for hares, geese, fox, reindeer, and the introduced muskox. We estimate that the relative muskox density is ten times higher within 1 km of little auk fertilized vegetation hotspots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights the relationship between walruses and humans in and around the North Water polynya in a long-term perspective. The present study draws on a combination of biological, archaeological, archaeo-zoological, historical, and ethnographic sources covering the period from the 8th century ad to the late 20th century. The study demonstrates that the walrus was an important resource of meat, blubber, and other products throughout all the studied periods, if always supplemented by other kinds of game. It is suggested that walrus distribution and behaviour, as well as hunting strategies and technologies historically constituted a powerful component not only in forming human action and social life in the region but also in serving as an imaginative resource. It is further argued that the walrus and the walrus hunt still play a significant role in the present community living on the edge of the North Water, even if the hunt is increasingly circumscribed due to changing ice conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High Arctic ecosystems are under change and need to be monitored. We studied little auks (Alle alle), the most abundant seabird in the North Atlantic, in their main breeding area in the North Water Polynya region of High-Arctic north-west Greenland. We developed a method for estimating breeding density and chick-feeding rate based on video surveillance. As the nests of little auks are secluded between rocks and cannot be directly observed, the method rests on detailed recording of feeding events, when parent birds arrive from the sea with filled gular pouches and disappear into the scree to feed their chicks, supplemented with recording of fledging and pre-fledging behaviour of chicks outside the nesting holes. We installed video cameras in two study plots during the late chick-rearing and fledging periods 2 – 11 August 2012 and 5 – 12 August 2013, and the method proved useful for estimating the density of active nests immediately prior to fledging (which corresponds roughly to productivity of fledglings/m2). The densities of active nests for the two plots in 2012 and 2013 ranged between 1.06 and 1.63 nests/m2, and an average of 9.1 feeds/chick/day (n = 8 pairs, 3 × 24 h, 219 feedings) was recorded for this late stage of the chick-rearing period. Our video surveillance method has advantages over the mark–resight methods and other techniques used to monitor little auk colonies.

Abstract: A three dimensional coupled ocean (HYCOM) and sea ice model (CICE) is applied to a regional setup of the Lincoln Sea, the Nares Strait, and the Baffin Bay. As the sea ice model is originally developed for global simulations, boundary conditions have been implemented for the regional setup. The model results are compared with satellite images and with the large scale simulation that is specified for the boundary conditions. The main focus in this paper is on the simulated variations in the modeled sea ice flux and oceanic volume flux through the Nares Strait in the period September 2005–August 2008. The total sea ice area flux in 2006 is 14×103 km2/year and in 2007 it is 69×103 km2/year. The reason for this difference is mainly the blocking of the ice flow in the Nares Strait in spring 2006. The corresponding volume fluxes are 20km3/year and 120km3/year. The average annual oceanic volume flux varies from 0.6Sv to 1.3Sv from 2006 to 2008. The freshwater flux with a reference salinity of 34.8 varies in the same period from 12mSv to 29mSv. The opening and closing of the North Water, which is one of the largest polynyas in the world, are investigated. A February storm event with opening and refreezing of the North Water is well reproduced. The model results show that the net heat flux in the polynya area at the surface is positive into the ocean from May until the end of July, and hence while the wind is responsible for opening the polynya, the main mechanism for maintaining the polynya in late spring and early summer is the surface heat flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To deduce spatial patterns in copepod lipid composition and feeding strategy (i.e., degree of omnivory) in the North Water Polynya (Baffin Bay), three dominant species were sampled extensively over a broad geographical area (∼75–78°N; 77–69°W). Calanus hyperboreus CV, C. glacialis CV and Metridia longa females were collected in shallow and deep strata at 16 stations during autumn 1999 (August–October). Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that all species fed omnivorously in the southeastern (SE) region of the polynya. Here, copepods generally had elevated levels of carnivorous (e.g., ), dinoflagellate (e.g., ; ) and bacterial fatty acid markers (e.g., odd-numbered and/or branched; 18:1()). Copepods in the SE contained low proportions of diatom (e.g., ; ) and phytoplankton (e.g., polyunsaturated fatty acids) markers, relative to animals from northwest stations. Values of the omnivory index ‘UC’ (i.e., unsaturation coefficient) were also low in SE copepods, which implied reduced phytoplankton ingestion. Spatial patterns in seston fatty acid composition resembled the dietary signatures in that dinoflagellate and bacterial indices were highest in SE waters. Estimates of primary production, particulate organic carbon, carbon to chlorophyll ratios, and abundances of diatoms, dinoflagellates and bacteria, provided further evidence of the importance of the microbial loop at SE stations. Comparable spatial patterns in feeding strategy were observed in both sampling layers, indicating that copepods from the entire water column were feeding on a similar food source. Several interesting species-specific trends also emerged from the PCA. In general, C. hyperboreus fed the most herbivorously, followed by C. glacialis and M. longa. C. glacialis showed a stronger connection to the microbial food web than the other two species, and M. longa fed herbivorously throughout much of the polynya. These latter two findings contradict the conventional wisdom and highlight the need for future work. In particular, the microbial community should be emphasized and characterized in subsequent studies on the feeding ecology of C. glacialis. Although the three species investigated responded quite differently to available prey by adopting specialized feeding strategies, copepod omnivory in the polynya was generally inversely related to the availability of diatoms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High Arctic ecosystems are under change and need to be monitored. We studied little auks (Alle alle), the most abundant seabird in the North Atlantic, in their main breeding area in the North Water Polynya region of High-Arctic north-west Greenland. We developed a method for estimating breeding density and chick-feeding rate based on video surveillance. As the nests of little auks are secluded between rocks and cannot be directly observed, the method rests on detailed recording of feeding events, when parent birds arrive from the sea with filled gular pouches and disappear into the scree to feed their chicks, supplemented with recording of fledging and pre-fledging behaviour of chicks outside the nesting holes. We installed video cameras in two study plots during the late chick-rearing and fledging periods 2 – 11 August 2012 and 5 – 12 August 2013, and the method proved useful for estimating the density of active nests immediately prior to fledging (which corresponds roughly to productivity of fledglings/m2). The densities of active nests for the two plots in 2012 and 2013 ranged between 1.06 and 1.63 nests/m2, and an average of 9.1 feeds/chick/day (n = 8 pairs, 3 × 24 h, 219 feedings) was recorded for this late stage of the chick-rearing period. Our video surveillance method has advantages over the mark–resight methods and other techniques used to monitor little auk colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]