Arctic Ecology

The Arctic is often portrayed as being isolated, but the reality is that the connectivity with the rest of the planet is huge, be it through weather patterns, global ocean circulation, and large-scale migration patterns to name but a few. There is a huge amount of public interest in the 'changing Arctic', especially in terms of the rapid changes taking place in ecosystems and exploitation of resources. There can be no doubt that the Arctic is at the forefront of the international environmental science agenda, both from a scientific aspect, and also from a policy/environmental management perspective.
 
This book aims to stimulate a wide audience to think about the Arctic by highlighting the remarkable breadth of what it means to study its ecology. Arctic Ecology seeks to systematically introduce the diverse array of ecologies within the Arctic region. As the Arctic rapidly changes, understanding the fundamental ecology underpinning the Arctic is paramount to understanding the consequences of what such change will inevitably bring about.
 
Arctic Ecology is designed to provide graduate students of environmental science, ecology and climate change with a source where Arctic ecology is addressed specifically, with issues due to climate change clearly discussed. It will also be of use to policy-makers, researchers and international agencies who are focusing on ecological issues and effects of global climate change in the Arctic.
 

About the Editor
 
David N. Thomas is Professor of Arctic Ecosystem Research in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki. Previously he spent 24 years in the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales. He studies marine systems, with a particular emphasis on sea ice and land-coast interactions in the Arctic and Southern Oceans as well as the Baltic Sea. He also edited a related book: Sea Ice, 3rd Edition (2017), which is also published by Wiley-Blackwell.

List of contents

Preface xiii
 
List of Contributors xv
 
1 What Is the Arctic? 1
Kjell Danell
 
1.1 Setting the Scene 1
 
1.2 In Which Ways Is the Arctic Different? 2
 
1.3 How Was the Arctic Discovered? 3
 
1.4 How Large Is the Arctic? 4
 
1.5 What Is in the Arctic? 4
 
1.5.1 Arctic Haze and Ice Fog 4
 
1.5.2 Aurora Borealis 5
 
1.6 Climate and Weather 5
 
1.7 Ice and Snow 6
 
1.8 Permafrost, Polygons, Pingos, and Palsas 6
 
1.9 Animals, Plants, and Fungi 7
 
1.10 Arctic Ecosystems 9
 
1.10.1 Terrestrial Ecosystems 10
 
1.10.2 Freshwater Ecosystems 12
 
1.10.3 Marine Ecosystems 14
 
1.10.4 Humans 15
 
1.11 Which Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services does the Arctic Offer? 17
 
1.12 Biotic Changes in the Arctic 19
 
References 22
 
2 Arctic Ecology - A Paleoenvironmental Perspective 23
Michael Pisaric and John P. Smol
 
2.1 Introduction 23
 
2.2 The Distant Past 25
 
2.2.1 Bones, DNA, and Megafauna 26
 
2.2.2 Beringian Biota 27
 
2.2.3 Ancient DNA 29
 
2.3 Rings and Things: Examining Paleoenvironmental and Paleoclimatic Change Using Dendrochronology 30
 
2.3.1 Dendrochronology in Action: Examples from the Field 32
 
2.4 Lake Sediments: Continuous Archives of Environmental Change 33
 
2.5 Paleolimnology and Arctic Climate Change 37
 
2.5.1 Subfossil Pollen, Stomata, and Macrofossils for Tracking Vegetation Change 38
 
2.5.2 Charcoal and Past Wildfires 39
 
2.5.3 Using Past Assemblage Changes in Lake Biota to Reconstruct Past Climatic Trends 39
 
2.5.4 Using Paleolimnology to Study the Source and Fate of Contaminants 43
 
2.5.5 Linking Paleolimnology and Archeology: Tracking the Limnological Effects of Early Peoples in the Arctic 48
 
2.6 Concluding Remarks 49
 
References 50
 
3 Climate Change in the Arctic 57
Edward Hanna, Joseph E. Nolan, James E. Overland, and Richard J. Hall
 
3.1 Introduction to Arctic Climates - Datasets Available for Analyzing Climate Change 57
 
3.2 Atmospheric Aspects of Arctic Climate Change: Arctic Amplification and Global Warming, Changes in Air Temperature and Precipitation, and Changes in Atmospheric Circulation 59
 
3.3 Oceanic Aspects of Arctic Climate Change, Including Surface and Deep Ocean Circulation Changes 61
 
3.4 Climate Change Impacts on Arctic Sea Ice and Greenland Ice Sheet - The Unprecedented Recent Decline in Late Summer Sea-Ice Cover and Record Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt and Mass Loss 65
 
3.5 Feedbacks in the Arctic Climate System and Global Impacts - the Ice/Albedo Feedback and Ice Insulation Feedbacks - the "Warm Arctic, Cold Continents" Hypothesis 71
 
3.6 Concluding Remarks 73
 
References 75
 
4 Arctic Permafrost and Ecosystem Functioning 81
Torben R. Christensen
 
4.1 Permafrost and Ecosystems in the Arctic 81
 
4.2 Permafrost Shapes the Landscape 83
 
4.2.1 Permafrost Specific Landforms and Their Importance for Ecosystems 83
 
4.2.2 Permafrost Specific Landforms and Effects of a Changing Climate 86
 
4.3 The Biology of Permafrost 87
 
4.3.1 Microbes 87
 
4.3.2 Vegetation 88
 
4.4 Ecosystem Function - Carbon Cycling in Permafrost Environments 91
 
4.4.1 General Carbon Cycling 91
 
4.4.2 Methane Emissions 92
 
4.5 Concluding Remarks 94
 
References 95
 
5 Arctic Tundra 103
John Hobbie, Gaius Shaver, Toke Thomas Høye, and Joseph Bowden
 
5.1 Distribution and Description of Arctic Tundra 103
 
5.2 Tun

About the author

About the Editor DAVID N. THOMAS is Professor of Arctic Ecosystem Research in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki. Previously he spent 24 years in the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales, where he is now an Honorary Professor. He studies marine systems, with a particular emphasis on sea ice and land-coast interactions in the Arctic and Southern Oceans as well as the Baltic Sea. He also edited a related book: Sea Ice, 3rd Edition (2017), which is also published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Summary

The Arctic is often portrayed as being isolated, but the reality is that the connectivity with the rest of the planet is huge, be it through weather patterns, global ocean circulation, and large-scale migration patterns to name but a few. There is a huge amount of public interest in the 'changing Arctic', especially in terms of the rapid changes taking place in ecosystems and exploitation of resources. There can be no doubt that the Arctic is at the forefront of the international environmental science agenda, both from a scientific aspect, and also from a policy/environmental management perspective.

This book aims to stimulate a wide audience to think about the Arctic by highlighting the remarkable breadth of what it means to study its ecology. Arctic Ecology seeks to systematically introduce the diverse array of ecologies within the Arctic region. As the Arctic rapidly changes, understanding the fundamental ecology underpinning the Arctic is paramount to understanding the consequences of what such change will inevitably bring about.

Arctic Ecology is designed to provide graduate students of environmental science, ecology and climate change with a source where Arctic ecology is addressed specifically, with issues due to climate change clearly discussed. It will also be of use to policy-makers, researchers and international agencies who are focusing on ecological issues and effects of global climate change in the Arctic.

About the Editor

David N. Thomas is Professor of Arctic Ecosystem Research in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki. Previously he spent 24 years in the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales. He studies marine systems, with a particular emphasis on sea ice and land-coast interactions in the Arctic and Southern Oceans as well as the Baltic Sea. He also edited a related book: Sea Ice, 3rd Edition (2017), which is also published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Additional text

"An extremely useful source of data and information for individuals with research projects in arctic ecology, paleoecology, and climate change."

John T. Andrews, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

Report

"An extremely useful source of data and information for individuals with research projects in arctic ecology, paleoecology, and climate change."
 
John T. Andrews, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

Product details

• Authors: David N. Thomas, David N. (University of Helsinki) Thomas, DN Thomas
• Assisted by: Davi N Thomas (Editor), David N Thomas (Editor), David N. Thomas (Editor), Thomas David N. (Editor)
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.11.2020
• EAN: 9781118846544
• ISBN: 978-1-118-84654-4
• No. of pages: 464
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Biology > Ecology; Ökologie, Arktis, Life Sciences, Biowissenschaften, Naturschutzbiologie, Conservation Science, Ecology & Organismal Biology, Ökologie u. Biologie der Organismen, Arktis /Natur, Ökologie, Ökologie / Salzwasser, Marine Ecology