Publikationsdatum:
2021-08-02
Beschreibung:
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-tolate
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.
Repository-Name:
EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
Materialart:
Article
,
isiRev
Format:
application/pdf
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