The diminishing age gap between polar cruisers and their ships: A new reason to codify the IMO Guidelines for ships operating in polar waters and make them mandatory?

Ice, harsh weather, severe cold, and remoteness increase the risks of navigating the Arctic. Robust ships and shipboard systems to support routine operations and effectively respond to accidents and emergency situations are necessary. In spite of these challenges, the cruise ship industry is reportedly preparing to expand its passenger capacity, destinations, and operating season in the Arctic. An examination of the Arctic cruise ship fleet shows that the most capable ships are approaching the end of their service lives and may be replaced during the next decade. A window of opportunity is open for the international community to act on concerns about the safety of cruise ships in Polar Regions by codifying and making mandatory the International Maritime Organization's Guidelines for ships operating in Polar waters. A mandatory code would provide regulatory guidance to ship-builders at a critical point in the process of procuring new Arctic cruise ships and ensure that suitably constructed and outfitted ships would serve Arctic cruisers.     

Arctic plesiosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of Melville Island,Nunavut, Canada

An expedition to Melville Island in Nunavut, Canada, recovered the fragmentary fossils of several plesiosaurs from non-marine deposits of the Hauterivian–Aptian Isachsen Formation. These plesiosaur fossils are some of the oldest Early Cretaceous records of the group in North America, and they likely predate the formation of a continuous Western Interior Seaway. The plesiosaurs from Melville Island appear to be primarily juveniles, and would have been living in a region that experienced at least seasonally cool temperatures. The presence of these fossils in a fluvial deposit support previous suggestions that juvenile plesiosaurs may have preferentially inhabited shallower waters rather than open marine environments. These fossils also show that polycotylid plesiosaurs were able to rapidly disperse and colonize high latitude coastal regions, as their occurrence in Arctic Canada only slightly postdates the first confirmed appearance of the group in Australia.     

北极海冰融化影响东亚冬季天气和气候的研究进展以及学术争论焦点问题

北极历来是影响东亚冬季天气、气候的关键区域之一。北极表面增暖要比全球平均快2~3倍,即所谓北极的放大效应。随着全球增暖的持续以及北极海冰的持续融化,北极的生态环境正在发生显著的变化,进而可能对北半球中、低纬度的天气、气候产生影响。本文概述了有关北极海冰融化影响冬季东亚天气、气候的主要研究进展,特别是自2000年以来,北极海冰异常偏少影响东亚冬季气候变率以及极端严寒事件的可能途径、存在的科学问题,以及学术界的争论焦点。秋、冬季节是北极海冰快速形成时期,此时北极海冰对大气环流的影响要强于大气对海冰的影响。近二十年来的研究结果表明,北极海冰异常偏少,不仅影响北冰洋局地的气温和降水变化,而且通过复杂的相互作用和反馈过程,对北半球中、低纬度的天气、气候产生影响。北极海冰通过以下两个可能机制来影响东亚冬季的天气、气候:（1）北极海冰的负反馈机制;（2）由海冰异常偏少引起的平流层-对流层相互作用机制。秋、冬季节北极海冰持续异常偏少,特别是,巴伦支海-喀拉海海冰异常偏少,既可以加强冬季西伯利亚高压（东亚冬季风偏强）,也可以导致冬季风偏弱。导致海冰影响不确定性的部分原因是:（1）夏季北极大气环流状态影响北极海冰异常偏少对冬季大气环流的反馈效果;（2）冬季大气环流对北极海冰异常偏少响应的位置、强度不同造成的。秋、冬季节北极海冰持续异常偏少,在适宜的条件下（例如,前期夏季北极大气环流的热力和动力条件,有利于加强北极海冰偏少对冬季大气的反馈作用）,可以激发出有利于冬季亚洲大陆极端严寒过程的大气环流异常。目前学术界争论焦点主要集中在以下两个方面:（1）关于北极增暖、北极海冰融化对中纬度区域影响的争论;（2）关于1980年代后期以来,冬季欧亚大陆表面气温呈现降温趋势的原因。目前,有关北极海冰融化影响冬季欧亚大陆次季节变化以及极端天气、气候事件的过程和机制,我们认知非常有限,亟需开展深入细致的研究。     

环境磁学视角下的北冰洋深海磁性地层：以罗蒙诺索夫脊ARC5-ICE4孔为例

近年来,北冰洋深海百万年尺度的磁性地层年代框架受到了来自诸如Mn旋回地层和钛磁赤铁矿“自反转”现象的强烈质疑,以致对该方法在北冰洋的适用性产生了巨大争议.鉴于此,本文对中国第五次北极科学考察在北冰洋罗蒙诺索夫海岭获得的ARC5-ICE4钻孔岩心(水深2860 m,进尺4.15 m)开展了深入的岩石磁学分析.结果证实岩心中的载磁组分以磁铁矿为主,部分颗粒表面发生轻微氧化作用,另含少量磁赤铁矿、赤铁矿、钛磁赤铁矿等;整体粒径呈现相对均一的准单畴(PSD：pseudo-single domain),且含量随深度变化不大.岩心1.15~2.04 m区间显示的负极性并非“自反转”所致,而是真实的古地磁场记录;结合相对古强度(RPI)曲线模式和S-ratio的旋回变化特征,将其对应于松山期(约2.58~0.78 Ma),钻孔底界年龄 < 3.58 Ma.另外,上述年代框架指示的沉积速率变化模式很好地吻合了北半球冰期加强(iNHG：intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation)和中更新世气候转型(MPT：mid-Pleistocene transition)等古气候事件,更加印证了其可靠性.因此,即使“自反转”现象在北冰洋深海地区真实存在,其影响范围也是局部的,即磁性地层对于建立该区新生代年代框架的重要性仍不容忽视.总之,目前北冰洋深海沉积物定年仍面临诸多难题和挑战,今后需加强多学科协作.

     

基于多源遥感数据的北极新冰提取及范围时序变化分析

本文利用多源遥感数据从不同空间尺度对2004年至2012年间北极地区新冰进行了提取并对其范围变化进行了分析。统计分析结果表明,北极海冰总体覆盖面积与北极近地表气温的变化呈反比;新冰覆盖面积的变化与海冰总面积的变化相比较缓慢;北极各个区域新冰覆盖范围的变化与各区域近地表温度的变化有较大的关联。