Journal
AMBIO
Volume 51, Issue 2, Pages 355-369Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01673-0
Keywords
Arctic; Climate change; Ecosystems; Nitrate; Nutrients; Phosphate; Productivity
Categories
Funding
- Changing Arctic Ocean programme - UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
- Changing Arctic Ocean programme - German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
- ARISE project [NE/P006310/1, NE/P006035/1]
- Arctic PRIZE project [NE/P006302/1]
- ChAOS project [NE/P006108/1, NE/N015894/1]
- Project EISPAC [03F0809A]
- NERC [NE/P006035/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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Climate change is impacting nutrient cycling in the Arctic Ocean, with potential effects on primary production and ecosystem dynamics. Nitrogen limitation plays a key role in primary production in the Arctic, particularly in regions dominated by denitrification. Changes in nutrient concentrations and sources, such as Atlantic water inflow and benthic nitrogen cycling, highlight the complexity of nutrient dynamics in the region and the need for further research and policy considerations.
Climate change is altering nutrient cycling within the Arctic Ocean, having knock-on effects to Arctic ecosystems. Primary production in the Arctic is principally nitrogen-limited, particularly in the western Pacific-dominated regions where denitrification exacerbates nitrogen loss. The nutrient status of the eastern Eurasian Arctic remains under debate. In the Barents Sea, primary production has increased by 88% since 1998. To support this rapid increase in productivity, either the standing stock of nutrients has been depleted, or the external nutrient supply has increased. Atlantic water inflow, enhanced mixing, benthic nitrogen cycling, and land-ocean interaction have the potential to alter the nutrient supply through addition, dilution or removal. Here we use new datasets from the Changing Arctic Ocean program alongside historical datasets to assess how nitrate and phosphate concentrations may be changing in response to these processes. We highlight how nutrient dynamics may continue to change, why this is important for regional and international policy-making and suggest relevant research priorities for the future.
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