Pan-Arctic Distributions of Continental Runoff in the Arctic Ocean

• Main Authors: Fichot, Cedric G, Kaiser, Karl, Hooker, Stanford B, Amon, Rainer M, Babin, Marcel, Belanger, Simon, Walker, Sally A, Benner, Ronald
• Other Authors: SOUTH CAROLINA UNIV COLUMBIA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Hydrology; Limnology and Potamology; *ARCTIC OCEAN; *FRESH WATER; *OCEAN BOTTOM SOILS; *OCEAN SURFACE; *RIVERS; *RUNOFF; BASINS(GEOGRAPHIC); BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS; CANADA; CARBON; DISSOLVING; GAS EXCHANGE(BIOLOGY); HEATING; KARA SEA; NORTH AMERICA; NUTRIENTS; OPTICAL PROPERTIES; ORGANIC MATERIALS; PERMAFROST; REMOTE DETECTORS; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; THAWING; WATER; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Canada; Kara Sea; canada basin; Climate change; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA569522; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA569522

Continental runoff is a major source of freshwater, nutrients and terrigenous material to the Arctic Ocean. As such, it influences water column stratification, light attenuation, surface heating, gas exchange, biological productivity and carbon sequestration. Increasing river discharge and thawing permafrost suggest that the impacts of continental runoff on these processes are changing. Here, a new optical proxy was developed and implemented with remote sensing to determine the first pan-Arctic distribution of terrigenous dissolved organic matter (tDOM) and continental runoff in the surface Arctic Ocean. Retrospective analyses revealed connections between the routing of North American runoff and the recent freshening of the Canada Basin and indicated a correspondence between climate-driven changes in river discharge and tDOM inventories in the Kara Sea. By facilitating the real-time, synoptic monitoring of tDOM and freshwater runoff in surface polar waters, this novel approach will help understand the manifestations of climate change in this remote region. Pub. in SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v3 n1053, p1-6, 11 Jan 2013. Government or Federal Purpose Rights License. The original document contains color images.