NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: contaminants, climate change, marine ecosystem, biogeochemical processes, carbon, carbon cycle

Objective(s): To study on a long-term basis how climate induced changes are impacting the marine ecosystem, carbon cycle, contaminant transport, biogeochemical fluxes, and exchange processes across the ocean-sea ice-atmosphere interface in the Canadian Arctic Ocean.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No.4997. The aim of the research programs supported by the Amundsen in 2021 is to study on a long-term basis how climate induced changes are impacting the marine ecosystem, carbon cycle, contaminant transport, biogeochemical fluxes, and exchange processes across the ocean-sea ice-atmosphere interface in the Canadian Arctic Ocean. Research programs onboard for the 2021 Expedition include the ArcticNet Marine Program, which will continue its ongoing studies of the ecosystems of the Beaufort Sea/Amundsen Gulf region to better understand the effect of climate change on these marine environments. Knowledge generated from this multi-year program is collated into integrated regional impact studies (IRIS reports) to help decision makers develop effective adaptation strategies for the changing coastal Canadian Arctic. The proposed research led by ArcticNet for 2021 is the direct continuation of activities previously conducted by ArcticNet in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (IRS) within the framework of Scientific Research Licenses awarded since 2004. New proposed research program for 2021 during Leg 4 include the PeCaBeau (Permafrost Carbon in the Beaufort Sea) and the RADCARBBS (Radiocarbon Distribution and Carbon cycling between Baffin Bay and the Beaufort Sea) programs, aiming to study biogeochemical properties and carbon cycling of seawater and seafloor sediments at more than 20 locations in the Beaufort Sea and in the Northwest Passage. Overall, the field program will involve meteorological, oceanographic and geological sampling, as well as bathymetric surveys of the seafloor. Leg 4 will also support Sentinel North's Technology Platforms project aiming to deploy and test in Arctic conditions various ocean and ice sensors under development. Only sampling and measurements will take place onboard the CCGS Amundsen. Analysis will be conducted by the participants after the Expedition. During the Expedition, there will be 2 research components : 1) a marine resources and environment component; and 2) a geology/bathymetry component. 1) Marine resources and environment component In the Arctic Ocean, sea-ice dynamics and hydrography will ultimately determine primary production, microbial activity, zooplankton and larval fish dynamics and benthos productivity. Sampling of the pelagic and benthic environments will be conducted at some identified stations (see in .kml file). A CTD/Rosette sampler will be deployed to determine continuous profiles of temperature and salinity. The CTD/Rosette profiles will be complemented by seawater sampling for measurements of Dissolved Organic/Inorganic Carbon, nutrients, Chlorophyll a, microbial densities and suspended sediments at selected depths. Various size plankton nets will be deployed for the determination of zooplankton and larval fish abundances and contaminant levels. The major species collected with the plankton nets will consist of zooplankton and larval fish (5 to 50 mm) of the dominant offshore fish species (i.e. arctic cod, sculpin). To complement the plankton net tows and determine the vertical position and migration of plankton and fish in the water column, a scientific echosounder (EK80) will be operated during transit between stations. If fish aggregations are detected while in transit and conditions allow, an Isaacs-Kidd Midwater Trawl (IKMT) and/or benthic beam trawl will be deployed to sample the fish. A box corer, gravity corer and Agassiz trawl will be used to assess the abundance, diversity and distribution of benthic organisms and levels of contaminants and carbon in the sediments. 2) Geology/bathymetry component The major goal of this research component is to conduct a bathymetric and sediment characterization survey to investigate seafloor stability conditions and permafrost carbon cycle during the last thousands of years in the Beaufort Sea and to provide the necessary geoscience knowledge to understand the distribution of ecologically and biologically sensitive benthic ecosystems. The icebreaker will be used as a research platform to conduct bottom sediment sampling in the study area and multibeam and sub-bottom surveys. For geotechnical analyses, a piston corer will be deployed to recover the upper 9 metres of sediment (surface of 0.01 m2). Multibeam and sub-bottom surveys will be conducted in between stations along the sampling transects in open water using 1) a long range Simrad/Kongsberg EM 302 multibeam echo sounder to produce along-transect track 3-D maps of the topography and character of the seabed and, 2) a sub-bottom profiler (Knudsen) to map the distribution and characteristics of the sediment below the water-sediment interface and to assist in the selection of adequate box coring, gravity coring and piston coring sites. The multibeam and sub-bottom profiler are hull-mounted at the bottom of the ship. As for the past projects realized on the CCGS Amundsen, research results will be communicated to Inuvialuit organizations and communities through progress reports submitted to the Aurora Research Institute. Amundsen Science will also distribute the annual Expedition Report to the communities and stakeholders. Since 2020, Amundsen Science also produces an Expedition Summary (short plain language report with pictures of the operations; see the 2020 English version here: https://amundsenscience.ulaval.ca/expeditions/past-expeditions/). This short report will be available in French, English and Inuktitut. We will happily provide a version in the Sallirmiutun dialect if needed. All results from the 2021 research programs are made available as peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. Once the intellectual property rights of the researchers and partners are satisfied for publication, relevant data sets will be incorporated into the central database of Amundsen Science (http://www.polardata.ca/) and offered for inclusion in national and international data banks. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from September 1, 2021 to October 07, 2021.