Beschreibung: Arctic coastal zones serve as a sensitive filter for terrigenous matter input onto the shelves via river discharge and coastal erosion. This material is further distributed across the Arctic by ocean currents and sea ice. The coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to changes related to recent climate change. We compiled a pan-Arctic review that looks into the changing Holocene sources, transport processes and sinks of terrigenous sediment in the Arctic Ocean. Existing palaeoceanographic studies demonstrate how climate warming and the disappearance of ice sheets during the early Holocene initiated eustatic sea-level rise that greatly modified the physiography of the Arctic Ocean. Sedimentation rates over the shelves and slopes were much greater during periods of rapid sea-level rise in the early and middle Holocene, as a result of the relative distance to the terrestrial sediment sources. However, estimates of suspended sediment delivery through major Arctic rivers do not indicate enhanced delivery during this time, which suggests enhanced rates of coastal erosion. The increased supply of terrigenous material to the outer shelves and deep Arctic Ocean in the early and middle Holocene might serve as analogous to forecast changes in the future Arctic.

Beschreibung: Hydrographic and stable isotope (δ18O) data from 4 summer surveys in the Laptev Sea are used to derive fractions of sea-ice meltwater and river water. Sea-ice meltwater fractions are found to be correlated to river water fractions. While initial heat of river discharge is too small to melt the observed 0-158 km3 of sea-ice meltwater, arctic rivers contain suspended particles (SPM) and colored dissolved organic material (CDOM) that preferentially absorb solar radiation. Accordingly heat content in surface waters is correlated to river water fractions. But in years when river water is largely absent within the surface layer absolute heat content values increase to considerably higher values with extended exposure time to solar radiation and sensible heat. Nevertheless no net sea-ice melting is observed on the shelf in years when river water is largely absent within the surface layer. The total freshwater volume of the central-eastern Laptev Sea (72-76°N, 122-140°E) varies between ~1000-1500 km3 (34.92 reference salinity). It is dominated by varying river water volumes (~1300-1800 km3) reduced by an about constant freshwater deficit (~350-400 km3) related to sea-ice formation. Net sea-ice melt (~109-158 km3) is only present in years with high river water budgets. Intermediate to bottom layer (〉25 salinities) contain ~60% and 30% of the river budget in years with low and high river budgets, respectively. The average mean residence time of shelf waters was ~2-3 years during 2007-2009.

Beschreibung: The Lena River forms one of the largest deltas in the Arctic. We compare two sets of data to reveal new insights into the hydrological, hydrochemical, and geochemical processes within the delta: (i) long-term hydrometric observations at the Khabarova station at the head of the delta from 1951 to 2005; (ii) field hydrological and geochemical observations carried out within the delta since 2002. Periods with differing relative discharge and intensity of fluvial processes were identified from the long-term record of water and sediment discharge. Ice events during spring melt (high water) reconfigured branch channels and probably influenced sediment transport within the delta. Based on summer field measurements during 2005–2012 of discharge and sediment fluxes along main delta channels, both are increased between the apex and the front of the delta. This increase is to a great extent connected with an additional influx of water from tributaries, as well as an increase of suspended and dissolved material released from the ice complex. Summer concentrations of major ion and biogenic substances along the delta branches are partly explained by water sources within the delta, such as thawing ice complex waters, small Lena River branches and estuarine areas.

Beschreibung: Enhanced permafrost warming and increased arctic river discharges have heightened concern about the input of terrigeneous matter into Arctic coastal waters. We used optical operational satellite data from the Ocean Colour sensor MERIS onboard the ENVISAT satellite mission for synoptic monitoring of the pathways of terrigeneous matter in the southern Laptev Sea. MERIS satellite data from 2006 on to 2011 were processed using the Case2Regional Processor, C2R, installed in the open-source software ESA BEAM-VISAT. Since optical remote sensing using Ocean Colour satellite data has seen little application in Siberian Arctic coastal and shelf waters, we assess the applicability of the calculated MERIS parameters with surface water sampling data from the Russian-German ship expeditions LENA2010 and TRANSDRIFT-XVII taking place in August and September 2010 in the southern Laptev Sea. The surface waters of the southern Laptev Sea are characterized by low transparencies, due to turbid river water input, terrestrial input by coastal erosion, resuspension events and, therefore, high background concentrations of Suspended Particulate Matter, SPM, and coloured Dissolved Organic Matter, cDOM. The mapped calculated optical water parameters, such as the first attenuation depth, Z90, the attenuation coefficient, k, and Suspended Particulate Matter, SPM, visualize resuspension events that occur in shallow coastal and shelf waters indicating vertical mixing events. The mapped optical water parameters also visualize that the hydrography of the Laptev Sea is dominated by frontal meanders with amplitudes up to 30 km and eddies and filaments with diameters up to 100 km that prevail throughout the ice-free season. The meander crests, filaments and eddy-like structures that become visible through the mapped MERIS C2R parameters indicate enhanced vertical and horizontal transport energy for the transport of terrigenous and living biological matter in the surface waters during the ice-free season.

Beschreibung: GC23E-0960: The Arctic is undergoing rapid environmental and economic transformations. Recent climate warming, which is simplifying access to oil and gas resources, enabling trans-Arctic shipping, and shifting the distribution of harvestable resources, has brought the Arctic Ocean to the top of national and international political agendas. Scientific knowledge of the present status of the Arctic Ocean and the process-based understanding of the mechanics of change are urgently needed to make useful predictions of future conditions throughout the Arctic region. These are required to plan for the consequences of climate change. A step towards improving our capacity to predict future Arctic change was undertaken with the Second International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP II) meetings in 2005 and 2006, which brought together scientists, policymakers, research managers, Arctic residents, and other stakeholders interested in the future of the Arctic region. The Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) Initiative developed out of the synthesis of the several resulting ICARP II science plans specific to the marine environment. This process has been driven by the early career scientists of the ICARP II Marine Roundtable. The ART Initiative is an integrative, international, multi-disciplinary, long-term pan-Arctic program to study changes and feedbacks among the physical characteristics and biogeochemical cycles of the Arctic Ocean. The first ART workshop was held in Fairbanks, Alaska in November 2009 with 58 participants. Workshop discussions and reports were used to develop a science plan that integrates, updates, and develops priorities for Arctic Marine Science over the next decade. The science plan was endorsed by endorsed and sponsored by the IASC SSC "Marine System", the former Arctic Ocean Science Board (AOSB). The next step now is to develop the ART Implementation Plan in order to further the goals of ART during the second ART workshop in Winnipeg, Canada. Our focus within the ART Initiative will be to bridge gaps in knowledge not only across disciplinary boundaries (e.g., biology, geochemistry, geology, meteorology, physical oceanography), but also across geographic (e.g., intenational boundaries, shelves, margins, and the central Arctic Ocean) and temporal boundaries (e.g., paleo/geologic records, current process observations, and future modeling studies). This approach of the ART Initiative will provide a means to better understand and predict change, particularly the consequences for biological productivity, and ultimate responses in the Arctic Ocean system. More information about the ART Initiative can be found at http://www.aosb.org/art.html.

Beschreibung: OS51C-1004 Dissolved radiogenic Nd isotopes (εNd), rare earth element (REE), Ba, and nutrient concentrations combined with oxygen isotopes retrieved along a section between Spitsbergen and Greenland at approximately 79°N during the ARK XXVII/1 cruise in 2012 were measured to characterize the origin and mixing of the water masses in the Fram Strait. Deep waters below 500 m are nearly constant in Nd concentration (CNd) around 16 pmol/kg and εNd signatures range from -9.5±0.2 to -10.9±0.2. The heavy REE to light REE ratio (HREE/LREE) ranges from 4 to 5. Ba concentrations range from 47 to 58 nmol/kg, increasing slightly with depth. These homogeneous signatures do not allow identification of distinct deep water masses. The upper 500 m of the water column close to the Western Svalbard margin including the shelf is relatively warm and saline (T ≤ 5.5°C, S ≤ 35.1) and shares characteristics of Atlantic Water (AW) including low CNd (~15 pmol/kg) and relatively unradiogenic εNd signatures (-12.2±0.2). This water is also characterized by HREE/LREE around 4 and CBa around 50 nmol/kg. Low salinity surface waters on the East Greenland shelf have unradiogenic εNd signatures similar to AW (-12.4±0.3) but in contrast to AW high CNd of up to 37 pmol/kg. At the same time the HREE/LREE ratio is relatively low (~3.5) and CBa reaches 73 nmol/kg. This suggests a significant freshwater contribution either from the McKenzie or the Lena rivers. Eastwards of these freshwater-influenced waters (at ~5°W), admixture of a Pacific component characterized by a more radiogenic εNd (-8.8±0.2) and high nutrient concentrations outcropping at surface was detected. Waters of the same origin are present on the East Greenland shelf at about 150 m depth. Based on these data we use mass balance calculations to determine the fractions of sea ice meltwater, Eurasian run-off, North American run-off, and Arctic seawater and compare these results with our εNd and REE data.