Arctic sea ice ecology and history
The Arctic sea ice covers less area in the summer than in the winter. The multi-year (i.e. perennial)
There are differing scientific opinions about how long perennial sea ice has existed in the Arctic. Estimates range from 700,000 to 4 million years.
Endemic species
The specialized,
A partially endemic
While previous studies of coastal and offshore sea ice provided a glimpse of the seasonal and regional abundances and the diversity of the ice-associated biota, biodiversity in these communities is virtually unknown for all groups, from bacteria to metazoans. Many
Dating Arctic ice
Estimates of how long the Arctic Ocean has had perennial ice cover vary.[1] Those estimates range from 700,000 years in the opinion of Worsley and Herman,[2] to 4 million years in the opinion of Clark.[3] Here is how Clark refuted the theory of Worsley and Herman:
Recently, a few
ice-rafted debris with the sparse coccoliths is more easily interpreted to represent transportation of coccoliths from ice-free continental seas marginal to the central Arctic. The sediment record as well as theoretical considerations make strong argument against alternating ice-covered and ice-free....The probable Middle Cenozoic development of an ice cover, accompanied by Antarctic ice development and a late shift of the Gulf Stream to its present position, were important events that led to the development of modern climates. The record suggests that altering the present ice cover would have profound effects on future climates.[3]
More recently, Melnikov has noted that, "There is no common opinion on the age of the Arctic sea ice cover."[4] Experts apparently agree that the age of the perennial ice cover exceeds 700,000 years but disagree about how much older it is.[1] However, some research indicates that a sea area north of Greenland may have been open during the
See also
- Arctic amplification
- Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
- Arctic ecology
- Arctic Ocean
- Arctic sea ice decline
- Climate of the Arctic
Further reading
- Bluhm, B., Gradinger R. (2008) "Regional Variability In Food Availability For Arctic Marine Mammals." Ecological Applications 18: S77–96 (link to free PDF)[permanent dead link]
- Gradinger, R.R., K. Meiners, G.Plumley, Q. Zhang, and B.A. Bluhm (2005) "Abundance and composition of the sea-ice meiofauna in off-shore pack ice of the Beaufort Gyre in summer 2002 and 2003." Polar Biology 28: 171 – 181
- Melnikov I.A.; Kolosova E.G.; Welch H.E.; Zhitina L.S. (2002) "Sea ice biological communities and nutrient dynamics in the Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean." Deep Sea Res 49: 1623–1649.
- Christian Nozais, Michel Gosselin, Christine Michel, Guglielmo Tita (2001) "Abundance, biomass, composition and grazing impact of the sea-ice meiofauna in the North Water, northern Baffin Bay." Mar Ecol Progr Ser 217: 235–250
- Bluhm BA, Gradinger R, Piraino S. 2007. "First record of sympagic hydroids (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria) in Arctic coastal fast ice." Polar Biology 30: 1557–1563.
- Horner, R. (1985) Sea Ice Biota. CRC Press.
- Melnikov, I. (1997) The Arctic Sea Ice Ecosystem. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers.
- Thomas, D., Dieckmann, G. (2003) Sea Ice. An Introduction to its Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology. Blackwell.
Footnotes
- ^ OCLC 108566094. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-10.)
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(help - S2CID 149592.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-309-03329-9.
- ISBN 978-2-919875-04-7.
- ^ Mikkelsen, Naja et al. "Radical past climatic changes in the Arctic Ocean and a geophysical signature of the Lomonosov Ridge north of Greenland" (2004).