Tracking Long-Term Environmental Changes in Arctic Lakes and Ponds: A Paleolimnological Perspective

• Main Authors: John P. Smol, Rock Basin Lake, Baird Inlet, Ellesmere Isl
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Nunavut
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.489.7978; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic58-2-227.pdf

Nunavut, Canadian High Arctic) was the site of the first detailed paleolimnological study from the circumpolar region, which used diatom and chrysophyte microfossils to track past climatic change. Photo: John P. Smol, August 1987. H IGH-LATITUDE REGIONS have repeatedly been iden-tified as important reference areas for environ-mental change research, as they are especially sensitive to even small climatic changes and are often the first to show signs of environmental shifts. Moreover, climatic changes occurring at high latitudes have profound effects on other regions. Unfortunately, long-term moni-toring data are generally lacking for most regions, and this is especially true for the Arctic. Without these data, it is difficult to determine whether environmental conditions are changing, and if so, to specify the magnitude and direction of change. Fortunately, a variety of natural archives of environ-