Project Summary
The oceanic region flanked by the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland experiences annual fluctuations in sea ice cover. This area has recently gained global interest as the future existence of arctic sea ice is in peril. Various proxies are being used to determine the past variations in sea ice to determine whether the rapid changes observed today have taken place in the past. Microorganisms such as dinoflagellates, foraminifera and diatoms are commonly used as proxies for sea surface conditions. These microorganisms have narrow ecological ranges; different species will flourish under different environmental conditions. By assessing the species assemblages, one is able to determine what environmental conditions must have been present at the time the assemblage had lived.
Diatoms (class Bacillariophycea) assemblages associated with sea ice have been studied extensively in the North Atlantic and Southern oceans and subsequently used as a proxy for sea surface conditions, including sea ice concentrations. This study examined a total of 15 marine surface sediment samples from the North Water polynya, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Jones Sound, Lancaster Sound, off Disko Bugt and the Labrador Sea to describe differences in diatom species assemblages, while comparing the assemblages to sea ice concentration data. The overall goal of this study is to develop a modern analogue of diatom assemblages as a proxy for sea ice concentration in Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and Labrador Sea, by determining the relationship between diatom assemblages in surface sediments and sea ice concentration/extent. Once the relationship between diatom assemblages and sea ice concentration in this area has been determine, it will be used to reconstruct paleo-sea-ice concentrations by analyzing sediments down core.
Sea Ice in Northern Baffin Bay
Light micrograph of an arctic diatom
DISCLAIMER:SITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION. This website is a class project for Renewable Resources 690. All results are preliminary. If you would like further information regarding this research please contact me at [email protected]
