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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Vulnerability of the North Water ecosystem to climate change
Mark NuttallSebastian WetterichRebecca JacksonThomas DavidsonSimone WengratErik JeppesenErik JeppesenAndrew C. G. HendersonSami J. TaipaleJari SyvärantaWilliam ColganGuillaume MasséGuillaume MasséKaarina WeckströmKaarina WeckströmSteffen M. OlsenSofia RibeiroJacques GiraudeauEleanor GeorgiadisEleanor GeorgiadisThorbjørn Joest AndersenAntoon KuijpersBjarne GrønnowAudrey LimogesAudrey LimogesAstrid StrunkJesper V. OlsenXavier CrostaKasper Lambert JohansenHelen MackayHelen MackayMartin NissenAnders MosbechNicolaj K. LarsenNicolaj K. LarsenNaja Mikkelsensubject
DYNAMICS010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciencesEcosystem ecologyGeneral Physics and AstronomyPalaeoclimate01 natural sciencespalaeoceanographyPalaeoceanographyTEMPERATURESilmastoHOLOCENEHolocene[SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean Atmosphere0303 health sciencesarktinen alueMultidisciplinaryEcologyAquatic ecosystemQClimate-change ecologyecosystem ecologyRECORDGREENLANDVARIABILITY[SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/ClimatologylämpeneminenSEA-ICEEcosystem ecologyATLANTIC OSCILLATIONSEDIMENTSclimate-change ecologyScienceGrönlantiClimate changeinuititpalaeoclimateGeneral Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular BiologyArticle03 medical and health sciencesddc:570EcosystemRECONSTRUCTION14. Life underwaterKeystone species1172 Environmental sciences[SDU.STU.OC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Oceanography030304 developmental biology0105 earth and related environmental sciencesGlobal warmingGeneral Chemistry15. Life on landilmastonmuutoksetekosysteemit (ekologia)Arctic13. Climate actionmerijääpaleoklimatologiadescription
High Arctic ecosystems and Indigenous livelihoods are tightly linked and exposed to climate change, yet assessing their sensitivity requires a long-term perspective. Here, we assess the vulnerability of the North Water polynya, a unique seaice ecosystem that sustains the world’s northernmost Inuit communities and several keystone Arctic species. We reconstruct mid-to-late Holocene changes in sea ice, marine primary production, and little auk colony dynamics through multi-proxy analysis of marine and lake sediment cores. Our results suggest a productive ecosystem by 4400–4200 cal yrs b2k coincident with the arrival of the first humans in Greenland. Climate forcing during the late Holocene, leading to periods of polynya instability and marine productivity decline, is strikingly coeval with the human abandonment of Greenland from c. 2200–1200 cal yrs b2k. Our long-term perspective highlights the future decline of the North Water ecosystem, due to climate warming and changing sea-ice conditions, as an important climate change risk.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-01 | Nature Communications |