The Arctic is greatly impacted by climate change. The increase in air temperature drives the thawing of permafrost and an increase in coastal erosion and river discharge. This leads to a greater input of sediment and organic matter into coastal waters, which substantially impacts the ecosystems by reducing light transmission through the water column and altering the biogeochemistry, but also the ...

There is an urgent need to understand and address the risks associated with a warming climate for ecosystems and societies in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. There are major gaps in our understanding of the complex effects of climate change—including extreme events, cascading impacts across ecosystems, and the underlying socioecological dynamics and feedbacks—all of which need collaborative efforts ...

Temporally (1965–2015) and spatially (55°–70°N) extensive records of total mercury (Hg) in freshwater fish showed consistent declines in boreal and subarctic Fennoscandia. The database contains 54 560 fish entries (n: pike > perch ≫ brown trout > roach ≈ Arctic charr) from 3132 lakes across Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Russian Murmansk area. 74% of the lakes did not meet the 0.5 ppm limit to protect ...

Climate and land-use changes are leading to impacts on individual ecosystems as well as shifts in transfer dynamics between interconnected systems. At the land-ocean interface, changes in riverine inputs of organic matter (OM) and nutrients have the potential to lead to shifts in coastal carbon and nutrient cycling with consequences for ecosystem structure and function. In this study, we assess OM ...

Seabirds are important vectors for nutrient transfer across ecosystem boundaries. In this seasonal study, we evaluate the impact of an Arctic colony (Alkhornet, Svalbard) of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and Brünnich’s Guillemots (Uria lomvia) on stream nutrient concentrations and fuxes, as well as utilization by coastal biota. Water samples from seabird-impacted and control streams ...

Increasing terrestrial run-off from melting glaciers and thawing permafrost to Arctic coastal areas is expected to facilitate re-mobilization of stored legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury (Hg), potentially increasing exposure to these contaminants for coastal benthic organisms. We quantified chlorinated POPs and Hg concentrations, lipid content and multiple dietary markers, in a ...

Climate-change driven increases in temperature and precipitation are leading to increased discharge of freshwater and terrestrial material to Arctic coastal ecosystems. These inputs bring sediments, nutrients and organic matter (OM) across the land-ocean interface with a range of implications for coastal ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling. To investigate responses to terrestrial inputs, physicochemical ...

The Arctic is experiencing dramatic changes including increases in precipitation, glacial melt, and permafrost thaw, resulting in increasing freshwater runoff to coastal waters. During the melt season, terrestrial runoff delivers carbon- and nutrient-rich freshwater to Arctic coastal waters, with unknown consequences for the microbial communities that play a key role in determining the cycling and ...