Rising temperatures and thawing permafrost will change nutrient concentrations in Arctic waterways, which will influence the growth of biogeochemically important biofilms.
Arctic
An Element of Randomness in Modeling Arctic Ice Cover
Incorporating random variation of temperature, humidity, and wind offers a computationally cheap alternative to improving resolution in an Earth system model when predicting when Arctic sea ice will disappear.
Urban Heat Islands Are Warming the Arctic
Even in the remote high latitudes, a new satellite study sees rising temperatures and spreading green belts around cities, with big impacts on soils and ecosystems.
Arctic Coast Erosion Linked to Large-Scale Climate Variability
Changes in rates of Arctic coastal erosion detected from multi-decadal measurements are attributed to the shorter duration in the winter sea ice coverage and large-scale changes in the wind patterns.
Tracking Trace Elements Across the Arctic Ocean
Researchers used data from a pan-Arctic survey of carbon and trace elements to better understand how climate change will affect primary production in one of the fastest warming regions of the world.
Organic Matter in Arctic River Shows Permafrost Thaw
Samples from two waterways in northern Siberia—the main stem of the Kolyma River and a headwater stream in the river’s watershed—indicate the differing sources and ages of carbon they contain.
Floating Patches of Soil Nutrients in Soil Help Explain Arctic Thawing
Nutrient-rich diapirs have a complex relationship with soil microbes and play an important role in carbon and nitrogen nutrient cycling, making them crucial for understanding feedbacks in the Arctic.
Reindeer Could Trample Permafrost Thaw
Thick, fluffy snow traps summer’s heat in the top layers of Arctic permafrost even as winter chills the air above. Grazing animals stomp that snow flat.
River Deltas at the Top of the World
The water that filters through river deltas has a large effect on the Arctic Ocean. A new study explores factors that shape Arctic river deltas and how delta form in turn changes water flow.
A Shared Resource for Studying Extreme Polar Environments
A new community pool of seismic instrumentation will facilitate and advance geologic and cryospheric research in Earth’s ice-covered environments.