MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Modern climatic changes, most apparent in the Arctic, lead to smaller areas of glaciers in the Arctic, to increased river flow of small rivers due to the melting Arctic glaciers and a radical restructuring of Arctic ecosystems, press service of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology (the Russian Academy of Sciences) told TASS.
"Field observations and calculations have shown that the shrinking summer ice cover and increasing continental runoff into the Arctic Ocean affect processes in the ocean related to the balance of carbon and freshwater," the press service said. "This, in turn, affects the high latitudes' marine ecosystem."
"The field and experimental data show that glacial runoff from Arctic archipelagoes contains a significant amount of nutrients, their concentration in water affects the activity of coastal ecosystems as a contribution to primary production of the Arctic's coastal areas," the press service added.
The institute's Bio-Hydrochemistry Laboratory is working in two key Arctic areas - on the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago - under a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. There, the scientists are led by Academician Mikhail Flint. The other location is the Spitsbergen Archipelago - jointly with the Zubov State Oceanographic Institute, the Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Norwegian Institute for Water Research.
"Studies have found that the bedrock underlying glacial streams is the main source of nutrients for coastal ecosystems. Based on results of work that continues till now since 2007, the scientists have concluded it is necessary to organize scientific monitoring in Novaya Zemlya's bays to avoid ecosystems' disruption from the growing anthropogenic load and accumulated environmental risks," the institute said.
During five expeditions to Western Spitsbergen's Templfjord, the scientists studied the fjord system's modern biogeochemical regime, and thus estimated concentrations of studied parameters in water, ice, snow, and bottom sediments, as well described seasonal dynamics in the water column. Obtained results have demonstrated a significant effect of coastal runoff and glacial meltwater on the amount of nutrients in Templfjord, the press service continued. The Arctic fjords' other ecosystems behave in a similar way.