Long-distance pollen transport from North America to Greenland in spring

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
• Main Authors: Rousseau, Denis-Didier, Schevin, Patrick, Ferrier, Jackie, Jolly, Dominique, Andreasen, Tore, Ascanius, Svend Erik, Hendriksen, Svend-Erik, Poulsen, Ulrik
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-École polytechnique (X)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Columbia University New York, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR ISEM), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de recherche pour le développement IRD : UR226-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Danish Radio-Sonde, Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), Danish Radio-Sonde Station, Financement IPEV
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2008
• Subjects: [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Arctic; Greenland; Tundra
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00263935; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00263935/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00263935/file/Long_Pollen_JGR.pdf

International audience In the Arctic domain there is evidence for very long distance transport of pollen grains from boreal forests to tundra environments. However, the sampling protocol used in earlier studies did not allow the determination of the precise timing of the deposition of exotic grains. The ongoing "Epilobe" project monitors the deposition of exotic grains on both western and eastern coasts of Greenland utilizing wind filters, which are changed weekly throughout the entire year. A combination of the identification of tree pollen grains, the dates of deposition of the pollen on the filters, and the distribution map of the trees identified, allows the selection of modeled backward trajectories of air parcels responsible for the capture of the grains in the growing area of northeastern North America, and their long distance transport to Greenland. A survey of data obtained from four stations, analyzed during 2004 and 2005, indicates the occurrence of a general pattern, every spring, which follows the main cyclone tracks reaching this Arctic region