Study of the Northern Alaska Coastal System (SNACS)

Lying at the intersection of the land, ocean, and atmosphere, and the locus of much human activity, the coast is a critical interface in the arctic system and an ideal test bed for tackling the kinds of complex scientific issues required to develop a true systems approach to the Arctic. In early 2004, NSF released an announcement of opportunity for the Study of the Northern Alaska Coastal System (SNACS; see Witness Spring 2004).

The announcement defined the coastal system very broadly, from the Brooks Range to the ice edge. In response, NSF received 43 proposals for 23 projects requesting a total of $24 million, not including logistics costs. NSF was able to fund six projects for a total of $7.27 million in FY 2005 and 2006.

Snow and Ice Processes in the Deposition and Fate of Mercury in the Arctic

Dates:

1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007

Atmospheric mercury enters the arctic ecosystem through a set of complex atmospheric chemical reactions that require sea ice and leads to provide reactive bromine, low ambient temperatures, and enough sunlight for photolysis. As a consequence, virtually all atmospheric mercury entering the arctic ecosystem is initially deposited in the snow pack, both on land and at sea. Up to one third of this initial deposit is re-emitted to the atmosphere before the snow melts, but the remainder ends up in snow melt run-off. The fate of this water-borne mercury is uncertain and undoubtedly different on land vs. sea ice. Two key...

Bill Simpson of the University of Alaska Fairbanks gets up close and personal with the ice edge while sampling passing floes.

Synthesis and Scaling of Hydrologic and Biogeochemical Data on the North Slope and Coastal Zones of Alaska: A Basis for Studying Climate Change

Dates:

1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007

The Arctic Ocean is the most landlocked ocean on Earth, and runoff from the pan-arctic watershed exerts strong control over ocean circulation and biogeochemistry. This project investigates the linkage between hydrologic variables and the fluxes of nutrients and organic matter (constituents) from the North Slope of Alaska to the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. The overarching goal of the work is to develop a generalized understanding of discharge-constituent relationships in arctic basins. The primary question is: What are the relationships between discharge and constituent concentrations in the three largest North Slope basins (Kuparuk, Colville, and Sagavanirktok) and have these relationships changed over...

Photo Credit: Colville River Delta collection at Louisiana State University

Halomethane Gas Exchange in Northern Alaskan Coastal Ecosystems

Dates:

1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007

Coastal ecosystems are believed to be globally important sources of methyl halides (CH3Br, CH3Cl, and CH3I) to the atmosphere, but fluxes from the arctic coastal zone have not yet been measured. CH3Br and CH3Cl are the dominant carriers of bromine and natural chlorine to the stratosphere, where they catalyze the destruction of ozone. CH3Br is also a widely used agricultural fumigant whose use is regulated by international agreement. CH3I is involved in tropospheric ozone chemistry and aerosol production and is a potential replacement fumigant for CH3Br. Our understanding of the tropospheric budgets of these compounds remains out of balance, with...

Photo Credit: Luciana Whitaker

Flux and Transformation of Organic Carbon across the Eroding Coastline of Northern Alaska

Dates:

1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007

Terrestrial arctic ecosystems store 25.33% of the world's soil organic carbon (OC), and large amounts of the long-sequestered OC is rapidly released by erosion along the ~2000 km coastline of northern Alaska. This eroded OC becomes available for biogeochemical cycling and makes a substantial, but poorly known, contribution to marine ecosystems and to CO2 and methane emissions to the atmosphere; released OC can potentially alter biogeochemical cycling, increase CO2 and methane emissions, contribute to climate warming, accelerate sea ice retreat, increase fetch and wave energy to exposed coasts, and ultimately further increase erosion rates and OC flux. While crude estimates...

Photo Credit: Colville River Delta collection at Lousiana State University

Developing an Understanding and Predictive Capability of the Interconnections Among Arctic Terrestrial, Atmospheric, and Marine Systems

Dates:

1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007

Most regional observation networks indicate that dramatic changes have occurred across the Arctic in recent decades, but comparatively little work has been done to assess atmospheric and oceanic responses to the dramatic observed terrestrial changes. Both increases in surface air temperature and a shift in arctic air circulation patterns are likely to contribute to changes in ice distribution. Rising sea level, changes in coastal geography due to shoreline erosion, increased winds, storm surges, and flooding may be the direct results of the depletion of sea ice and the resulting increase in fetch. As the tightly linked land, ocean, and atmosphere...

Photo Credit: NASA Visible Earth

Environmental Variability, Bowhead Whale Distributions, and Inupiat Subsistence Whaling: Whaling Linkages and Resilience of an Alaskan Coastal System

Location:

Barrow, Alaska

Dates:

1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007

The coupling between atmosphere, sea ice, ocean, bowhead whales, and subsistence whaling by the Native human populations is fundamental to the physical-biological-human systems of the Northern Alaska Coast. Whale migration routes and habitat use are determined by zooplankton aggregations, which are driven by oceanographic conditions, which depend on the climatic regime. Successful hunting depends on interactions between environmental and societal factors that vary each year and are driven by forces originating outside the system. This complex suite of environment-whale-human factors comprises a system that is vulnerable both to global climate and human generated change. This project seeks to identify and...

Photo Credit: Misty Nikula Ohlsen