Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
planktonic organisms. Biologically, this physical change means the loss of an entire biome
al ice season that now dominates the low Arctic or sub-Arctic. Loss of sea ice at this scale
and attendant open water also have implications for atmospheric-ocean interaction, with
Figure 5.3
The spatio-temporal scales considered in this chapter (numbered 1-4), along with examples of cross-scale
interactions.
Biophysical implications ofthe loss ofsummer sea ice take place at the regional and annual
scale (Domain 2 in
Figure 5.3
,
Table 5.1
), wherein the individual shelf regions and adjacent
basins in the Arctic Ocean and associated seasonal patterns of today's primary production
and food-web dynamics are found. The direction and extent of change at this scale will de-
pend on the individual characteristics of each specific shelf and basin region (cf. Carmack
include surface layer warming and increased stratification from melting ice and river run-
off. Light penetration will increase in the basin due to removal of ice and emergence of
melt ponds (Nicolaus
et al
.,
2012
) and decrease in shelf areas owing to greater turbidity on
shallow shelves, resulting from wind mixing, river inputs of sediment, and increased per-
mafrost melting and coastal erosion. Likewise, nutrient availability will increase in some
regions due to upwelling (particularly along ice-free shelf edges and off estuaries) and de-
crease in other regions due to increased stratification as a result of ice melt, river inputs,
and warming. Ocean acidification will increase due to increasing atmospheric CO
2
levels,
increased areas of open water for air-sea exchange, high solubility of CO
2
in cold waters,
