A seismic study along the East Greenland margin from 72°N to 77°N

Around 4370 km of new seismic reflection data, collected along the East Greenland margin between 71°30'N and 77°N in 2003, provide a first detailed view of the sediment distribution and tectonic features along the East Greenland margin. After processing and converting the data to depth, we correlated ODP-Site 913 stratigraphy into the new seismic network. Unit GB-2 shows the greatest glacial sediment deposits beneath the East Greenland continental shelf. This unit is characterized by the beginning of prograding sequences and has, according to our stratigraphic correlation, a Middle Miocene age. It might have been caused by rapid changes in sea level and/or glacial erosion by an early ice sheet or glaciers along the coast. A basement high, presumably a 360 km long basement structure at 77°N–74°54'N, prevents continuous sediment transport from the shelf into the deep sea area in times before 15 Myr. The origin of this prominent structure remains speculative since no rock sample from this structure is available. Seaward dipping reflectors at the eastern flank of this structure strongly support that it is a volcanic construction and is most likely emplaced on continental or transitional crust. The compilation of sediment thickness provide an insight into the regional sediment distribution in the Greenland Basin. An average sediment thickness of 1 km is observed. The north bordering Boreas Basin has a sediment thickness of 1.8 km close to the Greenland fracture zone (GFZ).     

基于地图视角的北极海洋权益现状研究

明确各国北极海洋权益现状是我国未来北极活动的基础。本研究根据相关文献及图集资料,基于地图视角,对环北极国家的专属经济区划界、外大陆架申请、海洋保护区建立等方面进行定量化、空间化的分析,以此反映北冰洋海洋权益基本情况。结合《联合国海洋法公约》《公海公约》《大陆架公约》《领海及毗连区公约》等相关法律政策,预测北极海洋权益未来发展趋势并探究其对我国未来北极活动的影响,为我国未来北极策略制定提供参考。结果表明,沿岸国家对北冰洋活动的限制程度具有一定的规律性:在经向上,呈现出显著的纬度地带性,即限制程度随着纬度增高而逐渐减弱;在深度方向,对大陆架的控制范围大于对其上覆水域的控制范围。     

北极黑碳气溶胶研究现状和展望

在过去的100年中,北极温度升高的速率几乎是全球平均速率的两倍,尽管人为长生命期的温室气体(GHGs)在气候系统辐射强迫中占主导地位,黑碳气溶胶和其它短生命期的污染物却能很好地解释北极气候增暖较快的原因。因此,减少人为黑碳气溶胶排放将成为缓解北极迅速变化的重要策略。介绍北极黑碳气溶胶研究现状,讨论它在北极变暖中扮演的角色,分析当前北极黑碳气溶胶研究中存在的问题,展望深入开展黑碳气溶胶观测研究的必要性和紧迫性。     

Field observations of recent transgression on northern and eastern Melville Island, western Canadian Arctic Archipelago

After ~ 11,000 years of glacio-isostatically induced forced regression, geomorphological evidence indicates that the coastline of eastern Melville Island, western Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is now being transgressed. Recently developed coastal features associated with this transgression include: drowned gullies and small estuaries, barriers and lagoons, barrier islands, erosional notches, backstepping beaches, and drowned tundra vegetation and vehicle tracks dating from the 1970s. We mainly attribute this relative sea-level rise to the eastward migration of a peripheral crustal forebulge. Furthermore, the reported transgression also includes a component from recent eustatic sea-level rise during the 20th century. Recent earthquakes recorded in the Gustav-Lougheed Arch Seismic Zone located in Byam Martin Channel, 70 km east of Melville Island, suggest that neotectonics could also be involved in local relative sea-level adjustments. Other factors associated with global warming, especially the formation of an earlier shore-ice lead coupled with increased storm activity might also be responsible for some of the coastal changes. Our study indicates that the current zero isobase, separating areas of net transgression from those of net regression, is now located off the east coast of the island. Our field observations support recent glacio-isostatic modelling that shows the island is presently undergoing a transgression.     

A test of the possible influence of seabird activity on the <Superscript>210</Superscript>Pb flux in high Arctic ponds at Cape Vera,Devon Island,Nunavut: implications for radiochronology

A large seabird colony of northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) at Cape Vera on Devon Island in the Canadian high Arctic has been shown to act as an effective biological pump, transporting large quantities of marine-derived nutrients and contaminants to the ponds beneath their nesting sites. Previous research has shown that seabirds also have the potential to elevate radionuclide concentrations in their immediate surroundings. Here, we assess the influence of the Cape Vera seabird colony on the ²¹⁰Pb budgets of six affected ponds and one control site, and discuss potential implications with respect to ²¹⁰Pb dating methodologies. In general, fluxes of ²¹⁰Pb at Cape Vera were similar to, or less than, those measured at other Arctic locations not influenced by seabirds. Plots of unsupported ²¹⁰Pb activity versus depth showed a number of non-monotonic features in all sediment cores, necessitating the use of the constant-rate-of-supply (CRS) model to derive age-depth profiles. We conclude that seabird activity has not dramatically increased the ²¹⁰Pb flux to the ponds at Cape Vera. Overall, the low flux of excess ²¹⁰Pb made accurate dating problematic for some of the study cores, necessitating the use of independent dating markers (e.g., ¹³⁷Cs and PCB concentrations) to verify the reliability of the chronologies.     

Long-term variability in Arctic sea surface temperatures

In this study, we used 30 years of an operational sea surface temperature (SST) product, the NOAA Optimum Interpolation (OI) SST Version 2 dataset, to examine variations in Arctic SSTs during the period December 1981–October 2011. We computed annual SST anomalies and interannual trends in SST variations for the period 1982–2010; during this period, marginal (though statistically significant) increases in SSTs were observed in oceanic regions poleward of 60°N. A warming trend is evident over most of the Arctic region, the Beaufort Sea, the Chuckchi Sea, Hudson Bay, the Labrador Sea, the Iceland Sea, the Norwegian Sea, Bering Strait, etc.; Labrador Sea experienced higher temperature anomalies than those observed in other regions. However, cooling trends were observed in the central Arctic, some parts of Baffin Bay, the Kara Sea (south of Novaya Zemlya), the Laptev Sea, the Siberian Sea, and Fram Strait. The central Arctic region experienced a cooling trend only during 1992–2001; warming trends were observed during 1982–1991 and 2002–2010. We also examined a 30-yr (1982–2011) record of summer season (June–July–August) SST variations and a 29-yr (1982–2010) record of September SST variations, the results of which are discussed.     

Meteorological observations 2003 at the Sermilik Station,Ammassalik Island,Southeast Greenland

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 105(2):49–56, 2005

Meteorological stations have been in operation since 1993 at Sermilik (65°40'N, 38°10'W), located in southeast Greenland. This note presents meteorological observations for the year 2003, including ground temperature, orographic effect (liquid precipitation) and air temperature lapse rates between two meteorological stations, Station Nunatak (515 m a.s.l.) and Station Coast (25 m a.s.l.).     

The nomadic landscape: People in a changing Arctic environment

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 109(2):181–189, 2009

The paper will explore the sense of place in the Thule district, Northern Greenland, including the emotional topography by which people live. The analytical framework is the notion of a nomadic landscape, drawing from the essay on nomadology by Deleuze & Guattari (2004). The nomadic landscape is constituted by a network of spatial centres—or points of reference—from each of which an infinite spatial realm takes its beginning. The ambition is to demonstrate how, in a nomadic landscape, movement is integral to memory, sociability and experience; this is vital to the understanding of present day responses to the reduced mobility owing to changing weather and ice conditions in the Thule district.     

北极Svalbard群岛Longyearbyen地区雪坑主要阴、阳离子特征研究

北极Ｓｖａｌｂａｒｄ群岛Ｌｏｎｇｙｅａｒｂｙｅｎ地区３条冰川８个雪坑样品的分析结果表明,该地区冰川表层雪中海盐离子Ｃｌ－和Ｎａ＋占主导地位,其浓度远高于其它离子,而陆源Ｃａ２＋在雪坑秋季污化层中浓度远远高于其它层位,可作为雪坑定年中秋季层位的标志。在季节变化上,海盐离子和ＳＯ２－４、ＮＯ－３在春季和夏季表现为高值,这与冬春季节北大西洋风暴和中纬度人类污染物远距离传输到北极有关,也与夏季局地海洋性气团、大气中氧化作用、光电作用和清除速率有关。同全球的边远地区格陵兰、南极和青藏高原比较,Ｌｏｎｇｙｅａｒｂｙｅｎ地区雪中离子浓度水平较高,特别是海盐离子浓度远高于其它地区。