Foreword to the thematic cluster: the Arctic in Rapid Transition—marine ecosystems

• Published in: Polar Research
• Main Authors: Monika Kędra, Alexey K. Pavlov, Carolyn Wegner, Alexandre Forest
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2015
• Subjects: Climate change; biogeochemical processes; forcing; ecosystem; sea ice; Arctic Ocean; envir; geo; Arctic; Association of Polar Early Career Scientists; Polar Research; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v34.30684; https://doaj.org/article/2c647d6fd0fa4d788071fbf1305113d3

The Arctic is warming and losing sea ice. Happening at a much faster rate than previously expected, these changes are causing multiple ecosystem feedbacks in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) initiative was developed by early-career scientists as an integrative, international, multidisciplinary, long-term pan-Arctic network to study changes and feedbacks among the physical and biogeochemical components of the Arctic Ocean and their ultimate impacts on biological productivity on different timescales. In 2012, ART jointly organized with the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists their second science workshop—Overcoming Challenges of Observation to Model Integration in Marine Ecosystem Response to Sea Ice Transitions—at the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, in Sopot. This workshop aimed to identify linkages and feedbacks between atmosphere–ice–ocean forcing and biogeochemical processes, which are critical for ecosystem function, land–ocean interactions and productive capacity of the Arctic Ocean. This special thematic cluster of Polar Research brings together seven papers that grew out of workgroup discussions. Papers examine the climate change impacts on various ecosystem elements, providing important insights on the marine ecological and biogeochemical processes on various timescales. They also highlight priority areas for future research.