Open AccessThe arctic freshwater system: Changes and impacts
Author(s) -
White Daniel,
Hinzman Larry,
Alessa Lilian,
Cassano John,
Chambers Molly,
Falkner Kelly,
Francis Jennifer,
Gutowski William J.,
Holland Marika,
Holmes R. Max,
Huntington Henry,
Kane Douglas,
Kliskey Andrew,
Lee Craig,
McClelland James,
Peterson Bruce,
Rupp T. Scott,
Straneo Fiamma,
Steele Michael,
Woodgate Rebecca,
Yang Daqing,
Yoshikawa Kenji,
Zhang Tingjun
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: biogeosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2006jg000353
Subject(s) - arctic , permafrost , environmental science , cryosphere , arctic sea ice decline , oceanography , precipitation , arctic ice pack , glacier , water cycle , climate change , arctic ecology , arctic dipole anomaly , sea ice , arctic geoengineering , geology , physical geography , antarctic sea ice , ecology , geography , meteorology , biology
Dramatic changes have been observed in the Arctic over the last century. Many of these involve the storage and cycling of fresh water. On land, precipitation and river discharge, lake abundance and size, glacier area and volume, soil moisture, and a variety of permafrost characteristics have changed. In the ocean, sea ice thickness and areal coverage have decreased and water mass circulation patterns have shifted, changing freshwater pathways and sea ice cover dynamics. Precipitation onto the ocean surface has also changed. Such changes are expected to continue, and perhaps accelerate, in the coming century, enhanced by complex feedbacks between the oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial freshwater systems. Change to the arctic freshwater system heralds changes for our global physical and ecological environment as well as human activities in the Arctic. In this paper we review observed changes in the arctic freshwater system over the last century in terrestrial, atmospheric, and oceanic systems.