A rigorous synthesis of the sea-ice ecosystem and linked ecosystem services highlights that the sea-ice ecosystem supports all 4 ecosystem service categories, that sea-ice ecosystems meet the criteria for ecologically or biologically significant marine areas, that global emissions driving climate change are directly linked to the demise of sea-ice ecosystems and its ecosystem services, and that the ...

Rare CO2 flux measurements from Arctic pack ice show that two types of ice contribute to the release of CO2 from the ice to the atmosphere during winter and spring: young, thin ice with a thin layer of snow and older (several weeks), thicker ice with thick snow cover. Young, thin sea ice is characterized by high salinity and high porosity, and snow-covered thick ice remains relatively warm ( >  −7.5 °C) ...

The Atlantic Water, entering the Arctic through the Barents Sea and Fram Strait, is the main source of nutrients in the Arctic Ocean. The Barents Sea is divided by the Polar Front into an Atlantic-dominated domain in the south, and an Arctic-dominated domain in the north. The Polar Front is a thermohaline structure, which is topographically-steered at sub-surface, and influenced by the seasonal ...

Strong seasonality is a key feature of high-latitude systems like the Barents Sea. While the interannual variability and long-term changes of the Barents Sea are well-documented, the seasonal progression of the physical and biological systems is less known, mainly due to poor accessibility of the seasonally ice-covered area in winter and spring. Here, we use an extensive set of physical and biological ...

The effect of freshwater sources on wintertime sea-ice CO2 processes was studied from the glacier front to the outer Tempelfjorden, Svalbard, in sea ice, glacier ice, brine and snow. March–April 2012 was mild, and the fjord was mainly covered with drift ice, in contrast to the observed thicker fast ice in the colder April 2013. This resulted in different physical and chemical properties of the sea ...

We examine an Arctic winter storm event, which led to ice break–up, the formation of open leads, and the subsequent freezing of these leads. The methane (CH₄) concentration in under–ice surface water before and during the storm event was 8–12 nmol L⁻¹, which resulted in a potential sea–to–air CH₄ flux ranging from +0.2 to +2.1 mg CH₄ m⁻² ...

Despite the exclusion of the Southern Ocean from assessments of progress towards achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Strategic Plan, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has taken on the mantle of progressing eforts to achieve it. Within the CBD, Aichi Target 11 represents an agreed commitment to protect 10% of the global coastal and ...

The Barents Sea is presently undergoing rapid warming and the sea-ice edge and the productive zones are retreating northward at accelerating rates. Planktonic foraminifers and shelled pteropods are ubiquitous marine calcifiers that play an important role in the carbon budget and being particularly sensitive to ocean biogeochemical changes and ocean acidification. Their distribution at high latitudes ...

The Barents Sea is one of the Polar regions where current climate and ecosystem change is most pronounced. Here we review the current state of knowledge of the physical, chemical and biological systems in the Barents Sea. Physical conditions in this area are characterized by large seasonal contrasts between partial sea-ice cover in winter and spring versus predominantly open water in summer and ...