Martine Lizotte

Polar oceans and sea ice cover 15% of the Earth’s ocean surface, and the environment is changing rapidly at both poles. Improving knowledge on the interactions between the atmospheric and oceanic realms in the polar regions, a Surface Ocean–Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) project key focus, is essential to understanding the Earth system in the context of climate change. However, our ability to monitor the pace and magnitude of changes in the polar regions and evaluate their impacts for the rest of the globe is limited by both remoteness and sea-ice coverage. Sea ice not only supports biological activity and mediates gas and aerosol exchange but can also hinder some in-situ and remote sensing observations. While satellite remote sensing provides the baseline climate record for sea-ice properties and extent, these techniques cannot provide key variables within and below sea ice. Recent robotics, modeling, and in-situ measurement advances have opened new possibilities for understanding the ocean–sea ice–atmosphere system, but critical knowledge gaps remain. Seasonal and long-term observations are clearly lacking across all variables and phases. Observational and modeling efforts across the sea-ice, ocean, and atmospheric domains must be better linked to achieve a system-level understanding of polar ocean and sea-ice environments. As polar oceans are warming and sea ice is becoming thinner and more ephemeral than before, dramatic changes over a suite of physicochemical and biogeochemical processes are expected, if not already underway. These changes in sea-ice and ocean conditions will affect atmospheric processes by modifying the production of aerosols, aerosol precursors, reactive halogens and oxidants, and the exchange of greenhouse gases. Quantifying which processes will be enhanced or reduced by climate change calls for tailored monitoring programs for high-latitude ocean environments. Open questions in this coupled system will be best resolved by leveraging ongoing international and multidisciplinary programs, such as efforts led by SOLAS, to link research across the ocean–sea ice–atmosphere interface.

Climate warming and related drivers of soil thermal change in the Arctic are expected to modify the distribution and dynamics of carbon contained in perennially frozen grounds. Thawing of permafrost in the Mackenzie Delta region of northwestern Canada, coupled with increases in river discharge and coastal erosion, trigger the release of terrestrial organic matter (OMt) from the largest Arctic drainage basin in North America into the Arctic Ocean. While this process is ongoing, well-established, and its rate is accelerating, the fate of the newly-mobilized organic matter, as it transits from the watershed through the delta and into the marine system, remains poorly understood. In the framework of the European Horizon 2020 Nunataryuk programme, and as part of the Work Package 4 (WP4) Coastal Waters theme, four field expeditions were conducted in the Mackenzie Delta region and southern Beaufort Sea from April to September 2019. The temporal sampling design allowed the survey of ambient conditions in the coastal waters under full ice cover prior to the spring freshet, during ice break-up in summer, as well as anterior to the freeze-up period in fall. To capture the fluvial-marine transition zone, and with distinct challenges related to shallow waters and changing seasonal and meteorological conditions, the field sampling was conducted in close partnership with members of the communities of Aklavik, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, using several platforms: helicopters, snowmobiles and small boats. Water column profiles of physical and optical variables were measured in situ, while surface water, groundwater and sediment samples were collected and preserved for the determination of the composition and sources of OMt, including particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC, DOC), and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), as well as a suite of physical, chemical and biological variables. Here we present an overview of the standardized datasets, including hydrographic profiles, remote sensing reflectance, temperature and salinity, particle absorption, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen, colored dissolved organic matter absorption, fluorescent dissolved organic matter intensity, suspended particulate matter, total particulate carbon, total particulate nitrogen, stable water isotopes, radon in water, bacterial abundance, and a string of phytoplankton pigments including total chlorophyll. Datasets and related metadata can be found in Juhls et al. 2021. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.937587.

Surface ocean biogeochemistry and photochemistry regulate ocean–atmosphere fluxes of trace gases critical for Earth's atmospheric chemistry and climate. The oceanic processes governing these fluxes are often sensitive to the changes in ocean pH (or p CO ₂ ) accompanying ocean acidification (OA), with potential for future climate feedbacks. Here, we review current understanding (from observational, experimental and model studies) on the impact of OA on marine sources of key climate-active trace gases, including dimethyl sulfide (DMS), nitrous oxide (N ₂ O), ammonia and halocarbons. We focus on DMS, for which available information is considerably greater than for other trace gases. We highlight OA-sensitive regions such as polar oceans and upwelling systems, and discuss the combined effect of multiple climate stressors (ocean warming and deoxygenation) on trace gas fluxes. To unravel the biological mechanisms responsible for trace gas production, and to detect adaptation, we propose combining process rate measurements of trace gases with longer term experiments using both model organisms in the laboratory and natural planktonic communities in the field. Future ocean observations of trace gases should be routinely accompanied by measurements of two components of the carbonate system to improve our understanding of how in situ carbonate chemistry influences trace gas production. Together, this will lead to improvements in current process model capabilities and more reliable predictions of future global marine trace gas fluxes.

Early-career scientists (ECSs) are a large part of the workforce in science. While they produce new scientific knowledge that they share in publications, they are rarely invited to participate in the peer-review process. Barriers to the participation of ECSs as peer reviewers include, among other things, their lack of visibility to editors, inexperience in the review process and lack of confidence in their scientific knowledge. Participation of ECSs in group reviews, e.g. for regional or global assessment reports, provides an opportunity for ECSs to advance their skill set and to contribute to policy-relevant products. Here, we present the outcomes of a group peer review of the First Order Draft of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). Overall, PhD students spent more time on the review than those further advanced in their careers and provided a similar proportion of substantive comments. After the review, participants reported feeling more confident in their skills, and 86 % were interested in reviewing individually. By soliciting and including ECSs in the peer-review process, the scientific community would not only reduce the burden carried by more established scientists but also permit their successors to develop important professional skills relevant to advancing climate science and influencing policy.

In our collective endeavour towards global sustainability, there is now a broad appreciation that producing scientifically robust knowledge requires new forms of engagement between scientists, stakeholders and society. But what is the role of Early Career Scientists (ECS) in these processes that are closing the gap between science and policy? Because opportunities to interact with more experienced peers through science refereeing are scarce, the role of ECS in the peer-review process remains minor despite ECS possessing strong academic credentials. Such engagement in the peer-review process represents a valuable opportunity for ECS and the scientific community as a whole. This opportunity provides a robust platform for ECS to understand the overall review process and editorial activities related to high-credibility publications such as those conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). During May/November 2018, 174 ECS on behalf of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) reviewed the first and second-order drafts of the IPCC “Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere and in a Changing Climate (SROCC)”. Here, we present the methodology, results, and lessons learned from these group reviews. Altogether, data from participant surveys on their experience and their comments catalog illustrate ECS as competent reviewers, comparable to more experienced researchers. The diverse disciplines and geographic perspectives, fostered through APECS and its partners, are currently being mobilized in the First Order Draft of the Working Groups I and II of the Assessment Report 6 of the IPCC, and will continue during the second round of reviews of these reports in early 2020. Information gathered during these ongoing reviews will add to the findings obtained during the review of the SROCC.

Thawing of permafrost in the Mackenzie Delta region of northern Canada, coupled with an increase in river discharge, prompts the release of particulate and dissolved organic matter from the largest Arctic drainage basin in North America into the Arctic Ocean. While this ongoing process is well-recognized and its rate is accelerating, the fate of the newly-mobilized organic matter as it transits from the watershed through the delta and into the marine system remains poorly understood. In the framework of the H2020 Nunataryuk project, and in partnership with ArcticNet and Sentinel North, we conducted intensive field expeditions in the Mackenzie Delta from April to September 2019. The temporal sampling scheme of this project allowed the investigation of ambient conditions in the coastal waters under a full ice cover prior to the spring freshet, during the ice break-up, in summer, as well as in fall prior to the freeze-up period. In order to capture the fluvial-marine transition zone and with specific challenges related to shallow waters and changing seasons, the field sampling was conducted using several platforms: helicopters, snowmobiles and small boats. Water column profiles of physical and optical variables were measured on site, and water and sediment samples were collected and preserved for the determination of the composition and sources of particulate and dissolved organic matter, as well as its biogeochemical cycling in the coastal environment. Beyond improving our understanding of the origin and fate of this re-mobilized organic matter, the data gathered will serve as a new basis for the ground truthing of remotely sensed images in a changing arctic environment. Finally, the tuned satellite data will be incorporated into numerical models, providing better predictions of the impacts of permafrost thaw on local biogeochemical cycling and ultimately on sea-air fluxes of carbon dioxide and global climate.

Biogenic sources of sulfur are important precursors of aerosols in the Arctic during the summer months. Recent studies show that peaks in ultrafine particle formation events often coincide with hotspots of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) emissions from the marginal ice zone. During the last 10 years, we explored the diversity of DMS sources associated with the ice and at the marginal ice zone in the Canadian Arctic, and assessed how the projected changes in sea ice extent, thickness, and other properties could strengthen or weaken these emissions. Results from four Arctic expeditions presenting DMS concentrations and dynamics in snow, sea ice, melt ponds, under-ice water, and at the ice edge will be shown and discussed in the context of ongoing and future changes in the cryosphere. The analysis of the pooled dataset points toward an increase in DMS emissions in a warmer Arctic with a potential cooling feedback on climate.

Atmospheric dimethyl sulfide, DMS(g), is a climatically important sulfur compound and is the main source of biogenic sulfate aerosol in the Arctic atmosphere. DMS(g) production and emission to the atmosphere increase during the summer due to the greater ice-free sea surface and higher biological activity. We implemented DMS(g) in the Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) online air quality forecast model, GEM-MACH (Global Environmental Multiscale–Modelling Air quality and CHemistry), and compared model simulations with DMS(g) measurements made in Baffin Bay and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in July and August 2014. Two seawater DMS(aq) datasets were used as input for the simulations: (1) a DMS(aq) climatology dataset based on seawater concentration measurements (Lana et al., 2011) and (2) a DMS(aq) dataset based on satellite detection (Galí et al., 2018). In general, GEM-MACH simulations under-predict DMS(g) measurements, which is likely due to the negative biases in both DMS(aq) datasets. However, a higher correlation and smaller bias were obtained with the satellite dataset. Agreement with the observations improved when climatological values were replaced by DMS(aq) in situ values that were measured concurrently with atmospheric observations over Baffin Bay and the Lancaster Sound area in July 2014. The addition of DMS(g) to the GEM-MACH model resulted in a significant increase in atmospheric SO₂ for some regions of the Canadian Arctic (up to 100 %). Analysis of the size-segregated sulfate aerosol in the model shows that a significant increase in sulfate mass occurs for particles with a diameter smaller than 200 nm due to the formation and growth of biogenic aerosol at high latitudes (>70 ^∘ N). The enhancement in sulfate particles is most significant in the size range from 50 to 100 nm; however, this enhancement is stronger in the 200–1000 nm size range at lower latitudes (∘ N). These results emphasize the important role of DMS(g) in the formation and growth of fine and ultrafine sulfate-containing particles in the Arctic during the summertime.