https://phys.org/news/2024-12-ice-area-term-efforts-arctic.html
'Earlier this year our international team of scientists from the Refuge Arctic
consortium departed Iqaluit, Nvt. on a 56-day research expedition in the far
north. We were sailing aboard the icebreaker
CCGS Amundsen and our main
objective was to study the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean.
The higher latitudes of the Arctic play a key role in the global climate and
are home to many unique ecosystems linked to sea ice. Our destination was the
evocatively named "last ice area," a region in far northern Canada and
Greenland.
Our icebreaker mission to northern latitudes of the last ice area allowed us to
study many facets of this understudied region. Of particular interest were the
properties of the sea ice, any physical and chemical gradients in the seawater,
the distribution of contaminants such as mercury and microplastics,
biodiversity and the marine food web.
The last ice area is projected to be the last area on Earth to experience
permanent year-round sea ice. It is home to not only the thickest, and oldest,
sea ice in the Arctic, but also to immense glaciers along the coasts. However,
this region is increasingly subject to the multiple stresses of climate change,
long-range pollution by contaminants and increased shipping activity—including
by tourist vessels.
The high Arctic area is already experiencing severe ice loss, and is predicted
to become increasingly ice-free over the coming decades. This change will
profoundly affect the life and ecosystems of the Arctic. It is therefore urgent
to develop an improved understanding of the last ice area as a unique global
heritage in the biosphere, and as a critically important Arctic refuge for
ice-dependent species in the face of climate warming.'
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
