Deep Sea Drilling Project Initial Reports Volume 38

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Deep Sea Drilling Project Initial Reports Volume 38 31. RADIOLARIA FROM THE NORWEGIAN SEA, LEG 38 OF THE DEEP SEA DRILLING PROJECT Kjell R. Bj^rklund, Geological Institute Department B., University of Bergen, 5014-Bergen-University, Norway INTRODUCTION North Atlantic Ocean, Benson (1972) was able to use the established radiolarian stratigraphy for an age The high latitudes of the Arctic region were first determination of the sediments. Thus, one of the main visited by D/V Glomar Challenger in 1974, on Leg 38 of objectives of this paper was to search out the radio- the Deep Sea Drilling Project, to the Norwegian Sea. larian stratigraphy, and see if the already established Seventeen sites were selected, and 17 holes were drilled zonation from lower latitudes could be used with faunal during this leg (Figure 1, see Table 1 in Chapter 1, this assemblages recovered from the Norwegian Sea. volume) Based on reports from Russian workers, Lipman For radiolarian studies, the Norwegian Sea is a virgin (1950), Kozlova and Gorbovetz (1966), and Bjprklund area, as no information is available on either radio- and Kellogg (1972), the present author recognized larian stratigraphy or biogeography from pre-Holo- similarities in the faunal assemblages from Siberia and cene sediments. The distribution of radiolarians in the the V^ring Plateau. Since these faunal assemblages are surface sediments of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea is quite different from the assemblages reported by Ben- discussed in only four papers. Stadum and Ling (1969) son (1972) and Petrushevskaya and Kozlova (1972), reported on the recent distribution of phaeodarians and DSDP Legs 12 and 14 from the northern and equatorial their state of preservation, Petrushevskaya (1969) and Atlantic, respectively, the author concludes that the Petrushevskaya and Bjyfrklund (1974) dealt with the radiolarian population in the North Atlantic and the distribution of polycystine radiolarians from surface Norwegian-Greenland Sea must have somehow been sediments. isolated. Most likely this was due to a landbridge, the Only one paper, Bj^rklund and Kellogg (1972) deals Iceland-Faeroe Ridge, present during the early phase of with the stratigraphy of Tertiary (late Eocene) the development of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. Re- sediments, from a site located near the top of one of the cent data from the Aleutian Islands also lead to the diapiric structures on the V^ring Plateau southwest of conclusion, that during early Tertiary, the North the Lofoten Peninsula. R/V Vema of Lamont-Doherty Pacific was isolated from the Arctic Ocean by a land- Geological Observatory has made several cruises (V 23, bridge, due to an elevation of the Aleutian Islands. V27, V 28, and V 30) into the Norwegian-Greenland The foregoing suggests that the Arctic in the early Sea, taking nearly 200 piston cores. The Tertiary Tertiary was an isolated ocean, which explains why it is sediments were recovered during the two latter cruises. only in the early Tertiary that the Siberian and V^ring Tertiary continental outcrops from northern Europe Plateau faunas have common species. such as Denmark, North Germany, North Poland, and Goll and Bj^rklund (in press) show that the oc- Franz Josephs Land—Novaja Semlja discussed in currence of radiolarians in the surface sediment of the Heiberg, 1863; Hustedt (in O. Wetzel, 1935); Schulz, Norwegian-Greenland Sea is associated with the high 1927; Grundow, 1884, respectively, are all similar in an productive areas in the western Norwegian Sea and absence of radiolarians. However, from other land sec- with the areas in the eastern Norwegian Sea underlying tions on the USSR eastern territories, radiolarian the Norwegian-Atlantic Current (the continuation of assemblages of Paleocene and Eocene ages have been the Gulf Stream). The Greenland Sea is barren or very described by different Russian authors—Borisenko poor in radiolarians. This distribution pattern is not yet (1960a, b), Krasheninnikov (1960), Kozlova and Gor- fully understood, but the main conclusion must be that bovetz (1966), and Lipman (1950). the North Atlantic Current passing over the Iceland- DSDP Leg 12 went to the area south of the Faeroe Ridge, into the Norwegian Sea, greatly in- Norwegian-Greenland Sea, the Labrador Sea, Rockall fluences this distribution pattern, together with dissolu- Basin, and the Bay of Biscay. Here, Benson (1972) tion and masking effects. reported on radiolarian assemblages with good preser- The main objectives of this study were: to try to es- vation, recovered from sediments of Pliocene to tablish a radiolarian stratigraphy for the Norwegian- Oligocene age, while strongly corroded faunas were ob- Greenland Sea; to compare the radiolarian fauna tained from Eocene and Paleocene sediments. recovered in the North Atlantic during DSDP Legs 12 Generally no information is available on Tertiary and 14 with that of Leg 38, in an attempt to test the radiolarian stratigraphy in the Norwegian-Greenland hypothesis that the North Atlantic and the Nor- Sea. A well-established Quaternary-Tertiary radio- wegian-Greenland Sea were not connected in the early larian stratigraphy has been established by Riedel and Tertiary; to search for the time when the North Atlantic Sanfilippo (1970, 1971) for DSDP Legs 4 and 7, respec- Current swept over the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge, in other tively, and Moore (1971) for Leg 8 in lower Atlantic words, when did the ridge submerge. Finally, could the and Pacific latitudes. During DSDP Leg 12 to the results of Leg 38 provide information regarding 1101 o NJ Cd •— 10° 15° 20° 25° 30 25° ?0° 15° 10° 0° TO • /»c C Z σ 75* 75° 70' 70° PROFILES 65' CONTOUR DEPTHS ARE IN 65° NOMINAL FATHOMS (SOUND VELOCITY 800 fms/fcec.) DEPTH GREATER THAN IδOOfms. • EARTHQUAKE EPICENTERS •fc•DRILL SITES EDGE OF CONTINENTAL SHELF j". Base Map from Talwani β Eldholm (in prep) 60' 60° 30° 25° 20° 15° IOe 10° 15° 20° 30° Figure L Location of Leg 38 drilling sites, and bathymetry and structure of the Norwegian - Greenland Sea. (Note: Site 351 was occupied but was not drilled. Its location has not been shown on this map. The inset map shows the track of Glomar Challenger between Sites 338 and 343 on the Voring Plateau. Portions be- tween Sites 339 and 343 correspond to line of composite profile illustrated in accompanying diagram. Also shown are position of Voring Plateau Escarpment, and corrected bathymetry of the area, in hundreds of meters, constructed principally from records taken by R/V Vema of Lamont Doherty Geological Observatory, supplemented by Glomar Challenger data. RADIOLARIA climatic shifts during Pleistocene time, and did the R: Rare—one to five fragments were observed on Pleistocene coolings have any influence on the current half the slide; circulation in the North Atlantic? F: Few—more than five fragments or tests were ob- served on half the slide; MATERIAL AND METHODS C: Common—mostly complete tests. 1-30 tests per All samples used in this study were cleaned using traverse were observed using the 63 X objective; standard procedures. It is of importance to describe in A: Abundant—mostly complete tests, greater than detail how the samples were processed, because an un- 30 tests were observed using the 63 × objective. known "microfossil" was frequently found at Sites 338, These designations are only of limited value due to 344, and 349. In the literature, they are described as the fact that the faunal slides were made in a semi- Anellotubulates. Recently they have been described as quantitative way. For this study, about 700 samples being artifacts, produced by reaction of H2O2 with were processed and examined for radiolarians. pyrite (Pickett and Scheibnerova, 1974, and Richard- son et al., 1973). Perch-Nielsen (1975) reported on and BIOSTRATIGRAPHY illustrated similar "microfossils." The procedures were During Leg 38, Cenozoic sediments were cored from as follows: the Arctic region for the first time, and as similar 1) An equal amount of sediment was used for easier material never has been available, it was now possible observation of fluctuations in the radiolarians per to do a detailed study on Cenozoic radiolarian stratig- volume units of sediment. raphy and paleoecology. Due to time limitations, the 2) Water was brought to the boiling point in a major emphasis of the present contribution is to es- beaker, sample was introduced, then concentrated tablish a northern high-latitude radiolarian biostratig- H2O2 and sodium hexametaphosphate (Calgon) was raphy. It is hoped the biostratigraphic framework out- added. lined in this paper will be useful for the scheduled 3) The suspension was treated with an ultrasound I POD Leg 49. probe for about 10-15 sec, then sieved on a 44 µm The radiolarian assemblages recovered during this screen. leg had very few species in common with holes drilled 4) Residue was treated with HC1, and the ultra- further south in the Atlantic Ocean. As no key fossils, sound probe was used for 5 sec. upon which the lower latitude Atlantic and Pacific 5) The fine fraction of the residue was brought into oceans are based, could be found in sufficient numbers, suspension in the beaker and decanted.. The suspension it was necessary to develop a local Norwegian Sea was allowed to settle out in a clean beaker, and from radiolarian stratigraphy. Again, due to time limita- this fine fraction the fauna slides were made. tions, the taxonomic chapter will only deal with those 6) 0.5 ml was pipetted out and put on a 25 × 50 mm species being significant for this local biostratigraphy. coverslip. Sample was spread out with a toothpick and However, species of little or no value for the dried on a hotplate. stratigraphy, but of value for information on the faunal 7) Caedax (N = 1.56) was put on the slide, a drop or assemblages, are illustrated. two of xylene was put on the coverslip, which was No absolute or good age determination of the sedi- placed on the slide.
Recommended publications
  • Baffin Bay Sea Ice Inflow and Outflow: 1978–1979 to 2016–2017
    The Cryosphere, 13, 1025–1042, 2019 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1025-2019 © Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Baffin Bay sea ice inflow and outflow: 1978–1979 to 2016–2017 Haibo Bi1,2,3, Zehua Zhang1,2,3, Yunhe Wang1,2,4, Xiuli Xu1,2,3, Yu Liang1,2,4, Jue Huang5, Yilin Liu5, and Min Fu6 1Key laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China 2Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China 3Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China 4University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 5Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, China 6Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazard Forecasting Center, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Beijing, China Correspondence: Haibo Bi ([email protected]) Received: 2 July 2018 – Discussion started: 23 July 2018 Revised: 19 February 2019 – Accepted: 26 February 2019 – Published: 29 March 2019 Abstract. Baffin Bay serves as a huge reservoir of sea ice 1 Introduction which would provide the solid freshwater sources to the seas downstream. By employing satellite-derived sea ice motion and concentration fields, we obtain a nearly 40-year-long Baffin Bay is a semi-enclosed ocean basin that connects the Arctic Ocean and the northwestern Atlantic (Fig. 1). It cov- record (1978–1979 to 2016–2017) of the sea ice area flux 2 through key fluxgates of Baffin Bay. Based on the estimates, ers an area of 630 km and is bordered by Greenland to the the Baffin Bay sea ice area budget in terms of inflow and east, Baffin Island to the west, and Ellesmere Island to the outflow are quantified and possible causes for its interan- north.
    [Show full text]
  • Consensus Statement
    Arctic Climate Forum Consensus Statement 2020-2021 Arctic Winter Seasonal Climate Outlook (along with a summary of 2020 Arctic Summer Season) CONTEXT Arctic temperatures continue to warm at more than twice the global mean. Annual surface air temperatures over the last 5 years (2016–2020) in the Arctic (60°–85°N) have been the highest in the time series of observations for 1936-20201. Though the extent of winter sea-ice approached the median of the last 40 years, both the extent and the volume of Arctic sea-ice present in September 2020 were the second lowest since 1979 (with 2012 holding minimum records)2. To support Arctic decision makers in this changing climate, the recently established Arctic Climate Forum (ACF) convened by the Arctic Regional Climate Centre Network (ArcRCC-Network) under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) provides consensus climate outlook statements in May prior to summer thawing and sea-ice break-up, and in October before the winter freezing and the return of sea-ice. The role of the ArcRCC-Network is to foster collaborative regional climate services amongst Arctic meteorological and ice services to synthesize observations, historical trends, forecast models and fill gaps with regional expertise to produce consensus climate statements. These statements include a review of the major climate features of the previous season, and outlooks for the upcoming season for temperature, precipitation and sea-ice. The elements of the consensus statements are presented and discussed at the Arctic Climate Forum (ACF) sessions with both providers and users of climate information in the Arctic twice a year in May and October, the later typically held online.
    [Show full text]
  • Full-Fit Reconstruction of the Labrador Sea and Baffin
    Solid Earth, 4, 461–479, 2013 Open Access www.solid-earth.net/4/461/2013/ doi:10.5194/se-4-461-2013 Solid Earth © Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Full-fit reconstruction of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay M. Hosseinpour1, R. D. Müller1, S. E. Williams1, and J. M. Whittaker2 1EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia 2Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7005, Australia Correspondence to: M. Hosseinpour ([email protected]) Received: 7 June 2013 – Published in Solid Earth Discuss.: 8 July 2013 Revised: 25 September 2013 – Accepted: 3 October 2013 – Published: 26 November 2013 Abstract. Reconstructing the opening of the Labrador Sea Our favoured model implies that break-up and formation of and Baffin Bay between Greenland and North America re- continent–ocean transition (COT) first started in the south- mains controversial. Recent seismic data suggest that mag- ern Labrador Sea and Davis Strait around 88 Ma and then netic lineations along the margins of the Labrador Sea, orig- propagated north and southwards up to the onset of real inally interpreted as seafloor spreading anomalies, may lie seafloor spreading at 63 Ma in the Labrador Sea. In Baffin within the crust of the continent–ocean transition. These Bay, continental stretching lasted longer and actual break-up data also suggest a more seaward extent of continental crust and seafloor spreading started around 61 Ma (chron 26). within the Greenland margin near Davis Strait than assumed in previous full-fit reconstructions. Our study focuses on re- constructing the full-fit configuration of Greenland and North America using an approach that considers continental defor- 1 Introduction mation in a quantitative manner.
    [Show full text]
  • An Evaluated List of Cenozic-Recent Radiolarian Species Names (Polycystinea), Based on Those Used in the DSDP, ODP and IODP Deep-Sea Drilling Programs
    Zootaxa 3999 (3): 301–333 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2015 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3999.3.1 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:69B048D3-7189-4DC0-80C0-983565F41C83 An evaluated list of Cenozic-Recent radiolarian species names (Polycystinea), based on those used in the DSDP, ODP and IODP deep-sea drilling programs DAVID LAZARUS1, NORITOSHI SUZUKI2, JEAN-PIERRE CAULET3, CATHERINE NIGRINI4†, IRINA GOLL5, ROBERT GOLL5, JANE K. DOLVEN6, PATRICK DIVER7 & ANNIKA SANFILIPPO8 1Museum für Naturkunde, Invalidenstrasse 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] 2Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578 Japan. E-mail: [email protected] 3242 rue de la Fure, Charavines, 38850 France. E-mail: [email protected] 4deceased 5Natural Science Dept, Blinn College, 2423 Blinn Blvd, Bryan, Texas 77805, USA. E-mail: [email protected] 6Minnehallveien 27b, 3290 Stavern, Norway. E-mail: [email protected] 7Divdat Consulting, 1392 Madison 6200, Wesley, Arkansas 72773, USA. E-mail: [email protected] 8Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract A first reasonably comprehensive evaluated list of radiolarian names in current use is presented, covering Cenozoic fossil to Recent species of the primary fossilising subgroup Polycystinea. It is based on those species names that have appeared in the literature of the Deep Sea Drilling Project and its successor programs, the Ocean Drilling Program and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, plus additional information from the published literature, and several unpublished taxonomic da- tabase projects.
    [Show full text]
  • Figure 3.16 Labrador Sea Bathymetry for the SEA Area The
    LABRADOR SHELF OFFSHORE AREA SEA – FINAL REPORT Figure 3.16 Labrador Sea Bathymetry for the SEA Area The Labrador Shelf can be divided into four distinct physiographic regions: coastal embayments; a rough inner shelf; a coast parallel depression referred to as the marginal trough; and a smooth, shallow outer shelf consisting of banks and intervening saddles. These features are presented in Figure 3.17. 3.2.1 Coastal Embayments The Labrador coast in the region of the Makkovik Bank is made up of a series of fjords. The fjords are generally steep-sided with deep U-shaped submarine profiles along the coast north of Cape Harrison, while glacial erosion and low relief prevented fjord development to the south. Sikumiut Environmental Management Ltd. © 2008 August 2008 105 LABRADOR SHELF OFFSHORE AREA SEA – FINAL REPORT Figure 3.17 Location Map of Labrador Shelf Indicating Main Features Sikumiut Environmental Management Ltd. © 2008 August 2008 106 LABRADOR SHELF OFFSHORE AREA SEA – FINAL REPORT 3.2.1.1 Inner Shelf The inner shelf extends from the coast to approximately the 200 m isobath, with a width of approximately 25 km and a general east-facing slope in the vicinity of Cape Harrison. The topography exhibits jagged erosional features and is topographically complex, having relief and underlying bedrock similar to the adjoining mainland. Local relief features displaying changes in bathymetry are present in areas deeper than 75 m water depth and shoals are common. Soil deposits are generally present in depressions or buried channels. Localized seabed slopes of 30 degrees are not uncommon, and some vertical faces can be expected, particularly at bedrock outcrops.
    [Show full text]
  • Radiozoa (Acantharia, Phaeodaria and Radiolaria) and Heliozoa
    MICC16 26/09/2005 12:21 PM Page 188 CHAPTER 16 Radiozoa (Acantharia, Phaeodaria and Radiolaria) and Heliozoa Cavalier-Smith (1987) created the phylum Radiozoa to Radiating outwards from the central capsule are the include the marine zooplankton Acantharia, Phaeodaria pseudopodia, either as thread-like filopodia or as and Radiolaria, united by the presence of a central axopodia, which have a central rod of fibres for rigid- capsule. Only the Radiolaria including the siliceous ity. The ectoplasm typically contains a zone of frothy, Polycystina (which includes the orders Spumellaria gelatinous bubbles, collectively termed the calymma and Nassellaria) and the mixed silica–organic matter and a swarm of yellow symbiotic algae called zooxan- Phaeodaria are preserved in the fossil record. The thellae. The calymma in some spumellarian Radiolaria Acantharia have a skeleton of strontium sulphate can be so extensive as to obscure the skeleton. (i.e. celestine SrSO4). The radiolarians range from the A mineralized skeleton is usually present within the Cambrian and have a virtually global, geographical cell and comprises, in the simplest forms, either radial distribution and a depth range from the photic zone or tangential elements, or both. The radial elements down to the abyssal plains. Radiolarians are most useful consist of loose spicules, external spines or internal for biostratigraphy of Mesozoic and Cenozoic deep sea bars. They may be hollow or solid and serve mainly to sediments and as palaeo-oceanographical indicators. support the axopodia. The tangential elements, where Heliozoa are free-floating protists with roughly present, generally form a porous lattice shell of very spherical shells and thread-like pseudopodia that variable morphology, such as spheres, spindles and extend radially over a delicate silica endoskeleton.
    [Show full text]
  • North Atlantic Variability and Its Links to European Climate Over the Last 3000 Years
    ARTICLE DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01884-8 OPEN North Atlantic variability and its links to European climate over the last 3000 years Paola Moffa-Sánchez1 & Ian R. Hall1 The subpolar North Atlantic is a key location for the Earth’s climate system. In the Labrador Sea, intense winter air–sea heat exchange drives the formation of deep waters and the surface circulation of warm waters around the subpolar gyre. This process therefore has the 1234567890 ability to modulate the oceanic northward heat transport. Recent studies reveal decadal variability in the formation of Labrador Sea Water. Yet, crucially, its longer-term history and links with European climate remain limited. Here we present new decadally resolved marine proxy reconstructions, which suggest weakened Labrador Sea Water formation and gyre strength with similar timing to the centennial cold periods recorded in terrestrial climate archives and historical records over the last 3000 years. These new data support that subpolar North Atlantic circulation changes, likely forced by increased southward flow of Arctic waters, contributed to modulating the climate of Europe with important societal impacts as revealed in European history. 1 School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to P.M.-S. (email: [email protected]) NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 8: 1726 | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01884-8 | www.nature.com/naturecommunications 1 ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01884-8 cean circulation has a key role in the Earth’s climate, as it 80°N is responsible for the transport of heat but also its storage O ’ in the ocean s interior.
    [Show full text]
  • Fresh Water and Its Role in the Arctic Marine System
    PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences RESEARCH ARTICLE Freshwater and its role in the Arctic Marine System: Sources, 10.1002/2015JG003140 disposition, storage, export, and physical and biogeochemical Special Section: consequences in the Arctic and global oceans Arctic Freshwater Synthesis E. C. Carmack1, M. Yamamoto-Kawai2, T. W. N. Haine3, S. Bacon4, B. A. Bluhm5, C. Lique6,7, H. Melling1, I. V. Polyakov8, F. Straneo9, M.-L. Timmermans10, and W. J. Williams1 Key Points: • The Arctic Ocean Freshwater System 1Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada, 2Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, has major intra-Arctic and extra-Arctic 3 4 effects Tokyo, Japan, Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, National • The Arctic Ocean Freshwater System Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK, 5Department of Marine and Arctic Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, regulates and constrains physical and Tromsø, Norway, 6Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, 7Now at Laboratoire de Physique des biogeochemical processes Océans, Ifremer, Plouzané, France, 8International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, • Changes in the Arctic Ocean 9 10 Freshwater System are expected in USA, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, Department of Geology and Geophysics, the future with substantial impacts Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA Abstract The Arctic Ocean
    [Show full text]
  • Arctic Report Card 2018 Effects of Persistent Arctic Warming Continue to Mount
    Arctic Report Card 2018 Effects of persistent Arctic warming continue to mount 2018 Headlines 2018 Headlines Video Executive Summary Effects of persistent Arctic warming continue Contacts to mount Vital Signs Surface Air Temperature Continued warming of the Arctic atmosphere Terrestrial Snow Cover and ocean are driving broad change in the Greenland Ice Sheet environmental system in predicted and, also, Sea Ice unexpected ways. New emerging threats Sea Surface Temperature are taking form and highlighting the level of Arctic Ocean Primary uncertainty in the breadth of environmental Productivity change that is to come. Tundra Greenness Other Indicators River Discharge Highlights Lake Ice • Surface air temperatures in the Arctic continued to warm at twice the rate relative to the rest of the globe. Arc- Migratory Tundra Caribou tic air temperatures for the past five years (2014-18) have exceeded all previous records since 1900. and Wild Reindeer • In the terrestrial system, atmospheric warming continued to drive broad, long-term trends in declining Frostbites terrestrial snow cover, melting of theGreenland Ice Sheet and lake ice, increasing summertime Arcticriver discharge, and the expansion and greening of Arctic tundravegetation . Clarity and Clouds • Despite increase of vegetation available for grazing, herd populations of caribou and wild reindeer across the Harmful Algal Blooms in the Arctic tundra have declined by nearly 50% over the last two decades. Arctic • In 2018 Arcticsea ice remained younger, thinner, and covered less area than in the past. The 12 lowest extents in Microplastics in the Marine the satellite record have occurred in the last 12 years. Realms of the Arctic • Pan-Arctic observations suggest a long-term decline in coastal landfast sea ice since measurements began in the Landfast Sea Ice in a 1970s, affecting this important platform for hunting, traveling, and coastal protection for local communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Labrador Sea Freshening Linked to Beaufort Gyre Freshwater Release
    1 Labrador Sea freshening linked to Beaufort Gyre freshwater release Jiaxu Zhang, Wilbert Weijer, Mike Steele, Wei Cheng, Tarun Verma, Milena Veneziani Nature Communications, in revision 2 Unprecedented increase of Beaufort Gyre freshwater Arctic Freshwater Content Time series of BG FWC (103 km3) • By 2017, BG freshwater is 40% above its climatology • Persistent anticyclonic wind + more available freshwater (sea ice melt, river runoff, Pacific Water inflow) • If released, the excess freshwater would be transported to the subpolar North Atlantic and freshen its upper ocean salinity ! the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). (Proshutinsky et al., 2009) (Proshutinsky et al., 2020) Focus and Tool 3 Existing studies 1) The sources of the BG freshwater, not much on its fate after it leaves the BG 2) The overall pan-Arctic freshwater budget, not the specific role of the BG region Objective To explore the fate of the BG freshwater after it is released and to quantify its downstream impact on the subpolar North Atlantic salinity Tool An ocean-sea ice hindcast simulation of 1948-2009 • DOE HiLAT03, global at 0.3° resolution • New tracer diagnosis Finding 1: Transport Route 4 Route Decomposition 01 The CAA and the downstream Davis Strait, rather than 02 The increased Davis Strait freshwater transport is Fram Strait, are the main pathways through which BG dominated by water from the BG region as freshwater exits the Arctic Ocean into the North Atlantic compared to other regions of the Arctic. Ocean. Finding 2: Labrador Sea Freshening 5 Upper 200 m freshening induced by BG freshwater FastRel minus FastAcc a b c d e deep convection Finding 2: Labrador Sea Freshening 6 Upper 200 m freshening induced by BG freshwater FastRel minus FastAcc a b c 25 mSv 25 BG Davis BG Western Shelves -0.2 psu d e deep convection 7 Finding 3: Comparable to Greenland meltwater FW type FWF anomaly FW amount SSS anomalies Study BG freshwater O(25 mSv) 5,600 km3 -0.2 (western) This study 16.4 mSv 7,500 km3 -0.1 (interior) Böning et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Gayana 72(1) 2008.Pmd
    Gayana 72(1): 79-93, 2008 ISSN 0717-652X RADIOLARIOS POLYCYSTINA (PROTOZOA: NASSELLARIA Y SPUMELLARIA) SEDIMENTADOS EN LA ZONA CENTRO-SUR DE CHILE (36°- 43° S) POLYCYSTINA RADIOLARIA (PROTOZOA: NASSELLARIA AND SPUMELLARIA) SEDIMENTED IN THE CENTER-SOUTH ZONE OF CHILE (36°- 43° S) Odette Vergara S.1, Margarita Marchant S. M.1 & Susana Giglio2,3 1Departamento de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile, [email protected]. 2Laboratorio de Procesos Oceanográficos y Clima (PROFC), Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile. 3Magíster en Ciencias con mención Oceanografía, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile. RESUMEN Los radiolarios son protozoos planctónicos marinos, los cuales, a pesar de ser sólo una célula, son sofisticados y complejos organismos. La Subclase Radiolaria está formada por 2 superórdenes: Trypilea y Polycystina, siendo el último el más estudiado, pues su esqueleto de opal es más resistente a la disolución en agua de mar y por ende, más comúnmente preservados en el registro fósil. Los radiolarios han sido usados como una útil herramienta oceanográfica, bioestratigráfica y paleoambiental, gracias a su esqueleto de sílice y a su gran rango geológico. En nuestro país el conocimiento de este grupo es muy escaso, es por esto que el presente trabajo, tiene como principal objetivo, aportar con la identificación y descripción de especies de radiolarios Polycystinos, no antes registrados para esta zona en particular. El material fue recolectado por la Expedición PUCK R/V Sonne Cruise SO-156 Valparaíso-Chiloé-Talcahuano realizada en mayo de 2001.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded 09/26/21 07:11 AM UTC 1OCTOBER 2000 VENEGAS and MYSAK 3413
    3412 JOURNAL OF CLIMATE VOLUME 13 Is There a Dominant Timescale of Natural Climate Variability in the Arctic? SILVIA A. VENEGAS Danish Center for Earth System Science, Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark LAWRENCE A. MYSAK Centre for Climate and Global Change Research, and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Manuscript received 12 July 1999, in ®nal form 18 November 1999) ABSTRACT A frequency-domain singular value decomposition performed jointly on century-long (1903±94) records of North Atlantic sector sea ice concentration and sea level pressure poleward of 408N reveals that ¯uctuations on the interdecadal and quasi-decadal timescales account for a large fraction of the natural climate variability in the Arctic. Four dominant signals, with periods of about 6±7, 9±10, 16±20, and 30±50 yr, are isolated and analyzed. These signals account for about 60%±70% of the variance in their respective frequency bands. All of them appear in the monthly (year-round) data. However, the 9±10-yr oscillation especially stands out as a winter phenomenon. Ice variability in the Greenland, Barents, and Labrador Seas is then linked to coherent atmospheric variations and certain oceanic processes. The Greenland Sea ice variability is largely due to ¯uctuations in ice export through Fram Strait and to the local wind forcing during winter. It is proposed that variability in the Fram Strait ice export depends on three different mechanisms, which are associated with different timescales: 1) wind-driven motion of anomalous volumes of ice from the East Siberian Sea out of the Arctic (6±7-yr timescale); 2) enhanced ice motion forced by winter wind anomalies when they align parallel to the Transpolar Drift Stream (9±10-yr timescale); 3) wind-driven motion of old, thick, and very low salinity ice from offshore northern Canada into the out¯ow region (16±20-yr timescale).
    [Show full text]