Post by Andrei Tchentchik on May 11, 2020 22:05:06 GMT 2
(.#A.096).- An Arctic study, unprecedented changes.26/04/2020.
Arctic research reveals unprecedented changes.26/04/2020.
PHOTO JONATHAN HAYWARD, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVE
The Arctic Ocean, where climate change has created the most impacts, may well change faster than any other body of water on Earth, according to Andrea Niemi, chief researcher at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The top of the world is overturning, according to the first general assessment of the Canadian Arctic Ocean.
Posted on April 26, 2020 at 5:46 pm
BOB WEBER
THE CANADIAN PRESS
The work of dozens of federal scientists and Inuit observers, this report describes a vast ecosystem in an unprecedented fluctuation: from ocean currents to the habits and types of animals that swim there.
The Arctic Ocean, where climate change has created the most impacts, may well change faster than any other body of water on Earth, according to Andrea Niemi, chief researcher at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
"As the Arctic evolves, the rest of the ecosystem will follow with these changes," said Ms. Niemi. There will be no delay. "
The fluctuations are so rapid that scientists haven't even had a chance to figure out what's going on.
Sixty percent of the species in the Canada Basin - like worms found alive in underwater mud volcanoes - have yet to be discovered, the study found.
"Who knows what else is out there?" Asked Ms. Niemi. There are so many things in the Arctic, we're still at the first step. "
The first estimate of fish species in the Beaufort Sea was not made until 2014, she noted.
Yet the changes are hard to miss, right down to the composition of the water.
Compared to 2003, it is 33% less salty in Beaufort gyre and around 30% more acidic by world average - enough to dissolve the shells of small molluscs. The Beaufort gyre, a vast circular current located in the western part of the ocean that has changed direction in each decade, has not changed in 19 years.
The shores are moving. Erosion has more than doubled in recent decades.
The variety of species changes.
Killer whales are becoming so common that they alter the behavior of other species such as narwhals and belugas on which the Inuit depend. Pacific salmon, capelin and harp seals migrate from the south.
"In some cases, communities take out their nets and catch only salmon," said Ms. Niemi.
The effects of salmon on other species are unknown.
Coastal fish species are increasingly found much further offshore. Ringed seals cannot complete their moulting period before the ice breaks, and high ocean temperatures appear to make them sluggish and prone to becoming prey to polar bears.
Human beings also make their presence felt. Increased navigation in the Arctic is making the ocean noisier and muffling the sounds that animals like seals and whales use to communicate.
Corrigendum:
In a dispatch sent on April 26 concerning a study on the Arctic Ocean, The Canadian Press erroneously reported that the water there was 33% less salty than in 2003. In reality, this data only concerned the gyre de Beaufort located in the western part of the ocean.
We also wrote that water was also 30% more acidic. This is actually a global average, but research suggests that the Arctic Ocean is more affected by this phenomenon than other bodies of salt water.
F I N .
Arctic research reveals unprecedented changes.26/04/2020.
PHOTO JONATHAN HAYWARD, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVE
The Arctic Ocean, where climate change has created the most impacts, may well change faster than any other body of water on Earth, according to Andrea Niemi, chief researcher at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The top of the world is overturning, according to the first general assessment of the Canadian Arctic Ocean.
Posted on April 26, 2020 at 5:46 pm
BOB WEBER
THE CANADIAN PRESS
The work of dozens of federal scientists and Inuit observers, this report describes a vast ecosystem in an unprecedented fluctuation: from ocean currents to the habits and types of animals that swim there.
The Arctic Ocean, where climate change has created the most impacts, may well change faster than any other body of water on Earth, according to Andrea Niemi, chief researcher at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
"As the Arctic evolves, the rest of the ecosystem will follow with these changes," said Ms. Niemi. There will be no delay. "
The fluctuations are so rapid that scientists haven't even had a chance to figure out what's going on.
Sixty percent of the species in the Canada Basin - like worms found alive in underwater mud volcanoes - have yet to be discovered, the study found.
"Who knows what else is out there?" Asked Ms. Niemi. There are so many things in the Arctic, we're still at the first step. "
The first estimate of fish species in the Beaufort Sea was not made until 2014, she noted.
Yet the changes are hard to miss, right down to the composition of the water.
Compared to 2003, it is 33% less salty in Beaufort gyre and around 30% more acidic by world average - enough to dissolve the shells of small molluscs. The Beaufort gyre, a vast circular current located in the western part of the ocean that has changed direction in each decade, has not changed in 19 years.
The shores are moving. Erosion has more than doubled in recent decades.
The variety of species changes.
Killer whales are becoming so common that they alter the behavior of other species such as narwhals and belugas on which the Inuit depend. Pacific salmon, capelin and harp seals migrate from the south.
"In some cases, communities take out their nets and catch only salmon," said Ms. Niemi.
The effects of salmon on other species are unknown.
Coastal fish species are increasingly found much further offshore. Ringed seals cannot complete their moulting period before the ice breaks, and high ocean temperatures appear to make them sluggish and prone to becoming prey to polar bears.
Human beings also make their presence felt. Increased navigation in the Arctic is making the ocean noisier and muffling the sounds that animals like seals and whales use to communicate.
Corrigendum:
In a dispatch sent on April 26 concerning a study on the Arctic Ocean, The Canadian Press erroneously reported that the water there was 33% less salty than in 2003. In reality, this data only concerned the gyre de Beaufort located in the western part of the ocean.
We also wrote that water was also 30% more acidic. This is actually a global average, but research suggests that the Arctic Ocean is more affected by this phenomenon than other bodies of salt water.
F I N .
