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März C, Freitas FS, Faust JC, Godbold JA, Henley SF, Tessin AC, Abbott GD, Airs R, Arndt S, Barnes DKA, Grange LJ, Gray ND, Head IM, Hendry KR, Hilton RG, Reed AJ, Rühl S, Solan M, Souster TA, Stevenson MA, Tait K, Ward J, Widdicombe S. Biogeochemical consequences of a changing Arctic shelf seafloor ecosystem. AMBIO 2022; 51:370-382. [PMID: 34628602 PMCID: PMC8692578 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01638-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Unprecedented and dramatic transformations are occurring in the Arctic in response to climate change, but academic, public, and political discourse has disproportionately focussed on the most visible and direct aspects of change, including sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, the fate of charismatic megafauna, and the expansion of fisheries. Such narratives disregard the importance of less visible and indirect processes and, in particular, miss the substantive contribution of the shelf seafloor in regulating nutrients and sequestering carbon. Here, we summarise the biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic shelf seafloor before considering how climate change and regional adjustments to human activities may alter its biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, including ecosystem function, carbon burial, or nutrient recycling. We highlight the importance of the Arctic benthic system in mitigating climatic and anthropogenic change and, with a focus on the Barents Sea, offer some observations and our perspectives on future management and policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian März
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
| | - Felipe S. Freitas
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1QE UK
| | - Johan C. Faust
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
- MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse 8, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Jasmin A. Godbold
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH UK
| | - Sian F. Henley
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FE UK
| | - Allyson C. Tessin
- Department of Geology, Kent State University, 221 McGilvrey Hall, 325 S. Lincoln St., Kent, OH 44242 USA
| | - Geoffrey D. Abbott
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Ruth Airs
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, PL1 3DH UK
| | - Sandra Arndt
- Department of Geosciences, Environment and Society, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Av. F.
Roosevelt 50, CP160/02, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - David K. A. Barnes
- British Antarctic Survey, UKRI, High Cross, Maddingley Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0ET UK
| | - Laura J. Grange
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2DG North Wales UK
| | - Neil D. Gray
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Ian M. Head
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
| | - Katharine R. Hendry
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1QE UK
| | - Robert G. Hilton
- Department of Geography, Durham University, Lower Mountjoy, South Rd, Durham, DH1 3LE USA
| | - Adam J. Reed
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH UK
| | - Saskia Rühl
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, PL1 3DH UK
- Helmholtz Zentrum Hereon, Max-Planck-Straße 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany
| | - Martin Solan
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton, SO14 3ZH UK
| | - Terri A. Souster
- British Antarctic Survey, UKRI, High Cross, Maddingley Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0ET UK
- Department of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UIT, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Mark A. Stevenson
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
- Department of Geography, Durham University, Lower Mountjoy, South Rd, Durham, DH1 3LE USA
| | - Karen Tait
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, Plymouth, PL1 3DH UK
| | - James Ward
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1QE UK
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Solan M, Archambault P, Renaud PE, März C. The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2020; 378:20200266. [PMID: 32862816 PMCID: PMC7481657 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Solan
- School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
- e-mail:
| | - Philippe Archambault
- ArcticNet, Québec Océan, Takuvik, Département de biologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Paul E. Renaud
- Akvaplan-niva, Fram Center for Climate and the Environment, 9296 Tromsø, Norway
- University Centre in Svalbard, Arctic Biology, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
| | - Christian März
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
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