BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTION IN THE WESTERN ARCTIC AND POSSIBLE FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Abstract

Since the most rapid changes in ice-cover has occurred in the western Arctic there is a critical need to have better measurements of the physical and biological processes that contribute to the biological productivity in that region in order to understand and hopefully predict their biological effects. The removal of seasonal and permanent ice cover can alter several important processes such as depth of mixing, stratification, light penetration, nutrient supply, temperature-related processes and possibly photochemical reaction. The lack of ice-capable research vessels contributed greatly to the delay in carrying out scientific research in both the seasonal and 'permanent' ice covered regions of Arctic Ocean. But in the past decade an increased attention to the western Arctic has occurred with programs of Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Russia and United States that studied the physical and biological processes occurring there. A considerable amount of new understanding has been achieved in circulation patterns and water mass structure over the western Arctic shelves during summer/fall seasons but additional details are still missing with regard to many of the boundaries with in Arctic Basin especially during winter through early summer seasons. Like-wise nutrient-plankton studies related to biomass and fluxes has been accomplished for summer and autumn seasons in shelf regions but only a few studies have occurred on the basin and its boundaries.