Environmental News Network - The Arctic Ocean’s Deep Past Provides Clues to Its Imminent Future

Details: By Princeton University; 16.Aug

As the North Pole, the Arctic Ocean and the surrounding Arctic land warm rapidly, scientists are racing to understand the warming’s effects on Arctic ecosystems.

Julie Swatson

As the North Pole, the Arctic Ocean and the surrounding Arctic land warm rapidly, scientists are racing to understand the warming’s effects on Arctic ecosystems.

With shrinking sea ice, more light reaches the surface of the Arctic Ocean. Some have predicted that this will lead to more plankton, which in turn would support fish and other animals.

Not so fast, says a team of scientists led by Princeton University and the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.

They point to nitrogen, a vital nutrient. The researchers used fossilized plankton to study the history of sources and supply rates of nitrogen to the western and central open Arctic Ocean. Their work, detailed in a paper in the current issue of the journal Nature Geoscience, suggests that under a global warming regime, these open Arctic waters will experience more intense nitrogen limitation, likely preventing a rise in productivity.

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The Arctic Ocean’s Deep Past Provides Clues to Its Imminent Future