Arctic Circle Research Articles

Environmental Characteristics of the Mining Area of Ni–Cu–Fe Paleoproterozoic PGE Monchepluton Intrusion (NE Scandinavia)

The problem of dump recultivation associated with sulfide ore mining is always a challenge for ecologists. A special case is the Arctic, where the specific climate and short vegetative period mean that any traces of such activities can persist for many years. The Monchepluton massif is a Paleoproterozoic, layered Platinum Group Element (PGE) intrusion, which is located in NE Scandinavia, beyond the Arctic Circle. This intrusion is mainly composed of ultramafic and alkaline rocks, represented by dunites, harzburgites, orthopyroxenites, norites, and gabbronorites. In these rocks, there is mineralization of the oxide ores Cr, Fe, and Ti, as well as the sulfide ores Cu, Ni, Fe, and PGE. The massifs of this intrusion were mined in the 20th century. The traces of intensive mining in the area are still visible today. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the state of the environment and propose its rehabilitation. The authors carried out an inventory of the mining facilities and studies of the area’s rocks, soils, plants, and waters. The results of these studies unequivocally show that the current condition of the site indicates the conditions for an ecological disaster. The most important polluting factor is the presence of metallurgical plants, which are responsible for acid rain and soil pollution. Another threat is uncontrolled mine water outflows. Due to the specific climatic conditions and the vegetation found in the area, the process of rehabilitating the area may be costly and lengthy.

The Napoleonic Mediterranean: Enlightenment, Revolution, and Empire, A Global History of the Napoleonic Wars, The Forgotten War against Napoleon: Conflict in the Mediterranean, 1793–1815

The Napoleonic Mediterranean: Enlightenment, Revolution, and Empire, A Global History of the Napoleonic Wars, The Forgotten War against Napoleon: Conflict in the Mediterranean, 1793–1815

Descriptions of three new diatom species in the genus Eunotia (Eunotiaceae, Bacillariophyta) from the Eocene Arctic

Eunotia is the largest and most diverse genus within the family Eunotiaceae, a primarily freshwater group of diatoms often found in dilute, acidic and humic-stained environments. Species in this genus are characterized by being asymmetric along their apical axis, symmetric about the transapical axis, and with a simple and reduced raphe system situated largely on the mantle and restricted to the apical ends of the valve. In addition, Eunotia taxa have one or more rimoportula per valve, usually close to the apex. Because of their reduced raphe system, coupled with the presence of rimoportulae, Eunotia and its relatives are often viewed as the oldest lineage of raphe-bearing diatoms. To date, the oldest remains of Eunotia species have been reported from the early to middle Eocene, including from the Giraffe Pipe locality, an ancient Eocene fossil site located in northern Canada near the Arctic Circle. Rocks from this site contain a large and diverse assemblage of Eunotia taxa. The purpose of this study is to begin to characterize this assemblage with descriptions of three new species, Eunotia giraffensis sp. nov., E. petasum sp. nov. and E. pseudonaegelii sp. nov. The new species, representing the longest specimens found at the Giraffe Pipe locality, each possess characteristics common to Eunotia making them easily assigned to this genus. Because the Eunotia lineage was well established by the early part of the Eocene, it is likely to be significantly older.

Global Warming by Geothermal Heat from Fracking: Energy Industry's Enthalpy Footprints.

Hypothetical dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) air expansion processes in atmosphere climate models that predict global warming cannot be the causal explanation of the experimentally observed mean lapse rate (approx.−6.5 K/km) in the troposphere. The DALR hypothesis violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics. A corollary of the heat balance revision of climate model predictions is that increasing the atmospheric concentration of a weak molecular transducer, CO2, could only have a net cooling effect, if any, on the biosphere interface temperatures between the lithosphere and atmosphere. The greenhouse-gas hypothesis, moreover, does not withstand scientific scrutiny against the experimental data. The global map of temperature difference contours is heterogeneous with various hotspots localized within specific land areas. There are regional patches of significant increases in time-average temperature differences, (∆<T>) = 3 K+, in a ring around the arctic circle, with similar hotspots in Brazil, South Africa and Madagascar, a 2–3 K band across central Australia, SE Europe centred in Poland, southern China and the Philippines. These global-warming map hotspots coincide with the locations of the most intensive fracking operational regions of the shale gas industry. Regional global warming is caused by an increase in geothermal conductivity following hydraulic fracture operations. The mean lapse rate (d<T>/dz)z at the surface of the lithosphere will decrease slightly in the regions where these operations have enhanced heat transfer. Geothermal heat from induced seismic activity has caused an irreversible increase in enthalpy (H) input into the overall energy balance at these locations. Investigating global warming further, we report the energy industry’s enthalpy outputs from the heat generated by all fuel consumption. We also calculate a global electricity usage enthalpy output. The global warming index, <∆T-biosphere> since 1950, presently +0.875 K, first became non-zero in the early 1970’s around the same time as natural gas usage began and has increased linearly by 0.0175 K/year ever since. Le Chatelier’s principle, applied to the dissipation processes of the biosphere’s ΔH-contours and [CO2] concentrations, helps to explain the global warming statistics.

Increases in Arctic sea ice algal habitat, 1985–2018

In the Arctic Ocean, sea ice algae are responsible for a small but seasonally important pulse of primary production. Their persistence is threatened by the rapid loss of sea ice from the Arctic Ocean due to climate change, but this threat will be at least partially offset by the replacement of multiyear ice (MYI) with first-year ice (FYI). FYI is thinner and usually features a thinner snow cover than MYI, thus transmitting more light to support ice algal growth. We combined remote sensing, reanalysis data, and modeling products with a radiative transfer model to assess how the changing physical conditions in the Arctic altered the extent and duration of the bottom ice algal habitat over a 34-year period. Habitat was defined as areas where enough light penetrates to the bottom ice to support net positive photosynthesis. The Arctic shifted from 37% FYI in 1985 to 63% in 2018, as the 2.0 × 106 km2 increase in FYI extent outpaced the 0.6 × 106 km2 decrease in overall sea ice extent above the Arctic Circle. The proliferation of younger ice corresponded with a 0.08 m decade–1 decrease in average sea ice thickness and a 0.003 m decade–1 decrease in average snow depth. The end of the ice algal season, marked by the onset of warm summer air temperatures, moved slightly earlier, by 1.4 days decade–1. Our analysis indicates that ice algal habitat extent increased by 0.4 × 106 km2 decade–1, or from 48% to 66% of total sea ice extent. The average ice algal growing season also lengthened by 2.4 days and shifted earlier in the year. Together, these trends suggest that net primary production in Arctic sea ice increased during 1985–2018. The most dramatic changes were localized in the Central Basin and the Chukchi Sea and were driven primarily by the declining snow cover and the shift from MYI to FYI. Although the Arctic recently became more favorable to ice algae, we expect that this trend will not continue indefinitely, as a limited amount of MYI remains.

A coloristic image of the modern northern city (the example of Norilsk)

In this paper, mutual influence of the color and image of the city in the perception of the residents is studied with the example of the city of Norilsk located 300 km north of the Arctic Circle. The chronological span is limited to the present moment, however, part of the study concerns the period since the foundation of the city (1935). The aim of the study is to determine how the coloristics supports the image of the city in the minds of its residents. Concerning the methods, the study was divided into several blocks. In the first part (the actual palette of the city), the method of categorization of color carriers and method of generalization of color shades were used. In the sec-ond part (hypotheses about the contours of group images), the content-analysis of the social networks and media was used. In the third part (hypotheses testing), the methods of questionnaires and quota sampling were em-ployed. In the fourth block, in-depth interviews with Photo-Voice were conducted. As a result, it was found that coloristics is closely interconnected with the image of the territory. In particular, the use of bright colors in the ar-chitecture of the 1950s in Leninsky Prospect accurately identifies the historical events associated with the builders of the city (political prisoners of GULAG). The architecture of other historical periods is less contemptable, thus the events are not integrated into group images. Therefore, the city is associated with the talent and resilience of the prisoners and supports a sense of self-continuity of the exiled intellectuals among the inhabitants. The life in the city is still thought of through the categories of ‘heroism’, whereas all subsequent events are perceived as imposed (industrial exploitation of resources, type-design practice in building). Therefore, when the residents con-trapose the beauty of Leninsky Prospekt to the rest of the city, actually, the talent, intelligence, and respect to the nature are opposed to the degradation of the territory. The presence of the blue-colored buildings and symbolism of the city-forming company reinforces the image of Norilsk as a center of metallurgy, since the production is pre-sent in the city in the form of symbols. The image of Norilsk as an isolated city is enhanced by the difference in color between the back yard and street facades. The city is perceived by the residents as a decoration, its prob-lems are not interesting to external observers. The perception of the city as a larger category of the Far North is reflected in the coloristic image of the city.

Monitoring as a tool to evaluate preservation possibilities. Results from the CULTCOAST project

The CULTCOAST research project has installed environmental monitoring equipment at two cultural heritage sites in northern Norway: one at the coal mine site of Hiorthhamn on Svalbard, one at the settlement mound site Sjåberget on Andøya in Nordland County. Both these coastal heritage sites are situated north of the Arctic circle, in the areas most impacted by climate change. Whereas the global temperature increase since 1970 is just above 1°C, in Svalbard the increase is now 4°C. This is the first example of using this specific type of sensors to monitor the ongoing changes and their possible impacts on preservation of heritage sites.

Six Decades of Thermal Change in a Pristine Lake Situated North of the Arctic Circle

AbstractThe majority of lake temperature studies have investigated climate‐induced changes occurring at the lake surface, primarily by analyzing detailed satellite images of surface water temperature. Whilst essential to observe long‐term change, satellite images do not provide information on the thermal environment at depth, thus limiting our understanding of lake thermal responses to a warming world. Long‐term in situ observational data can fill some of the information gap, with depth‐resolved field measurements providing a detailed view of thermal change throughout the water column. However, many previous studies that have investigated multi‐decadal changes in lake temperature, both at the surface and at depth, have typically focused on north temperate lakes. Relatively few studies have investigated temperature variations in lakes situated north of the Arctic Circle, which is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. Here, using a 60‐year (1961–2020) observational data set of summer water temperature (July–September) from Lake Inari (Finland), we investigate changes in the thermal environment of this pristine lake. Our analysis suggests a statistically significant summer warming trend at the lake surface (+0.25°C decade−1, p‐value &lt;0.1), whilst deepwater temperatures remain largely unchanged. This contrasting thermal response of surface and bottom water temperature to climatic warming has likewise resulted in a strengthening of summer stratification in this high latitude lake. Implications of the observed change in both temperature and stratification on the lake ecosystem will likely be extensive, including impacts on aquatic organisms which this lake supports. Our work builds on the ever‐growing literature regarding lake thermal responses to climate change.

Relations of Enhanced High‐Latitude Concurrent Blockings With Recent Warm Arctic‐Cold Continent Patterns

AbstractA warm Arctic‐cold continent (WACC) pattern has been one of the main characteristics of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) climate variability in winter during the last two decades. However, the factors contributing this pattern remain unclear. We compared the two leading modes of surface temperature in the NH winter on an interdecadal timescale and explored the role of high‐latitude concurrent blockings (HCBs) and the Arctic oscillation (AO) in these two modes. Results show that the first mode resembling the WACC pattern is more related to enhanced HCBs over the Ural Mountains and the North Pacific than the AO. The HCBs induce a warmer Arctic by simultaneously transporting large amounts of moisture and heat. The HCBs excite a tropospheric anticyclonic anomaly near the Arctic Circle, which, in turn, triggers anomalies in the propagation of planetary waves and the meridional circulation, with a subsequent redistribution of momentum and heat. This is accompanied by a weak polar night jet and a poleward shift in the subtropical westerly jet, resulting in mild cold mid‐latitude continents. The second mode represents the AO pattern, which has a different mechanism from WACC. The high‐pressure anomaly over the North Pacific has played an increasingly important part in the WACC mode in recent decades and the WACC pattern with HCBs is more easily reproduced in simulations with human activity. HCBs therefore require further consideration under the current and future conditions of global warming.

Inconsistent trends between early and late winters in extreme cold events in China from 1980 to 2021

Understanding intra-seasonal variation in extreme cold events (ECEs) has important implications for climate prediction and climate adaptation. However, the ECEs difference between early (from December 1 to January 15) and late (from January 16 to February 28) winters is a lack of sufficient understanding. Herein, we investigated the trends of ECEs over eastern China in early and late winters. Results showed that the number of days with ECEs had a faster and uniformly decreasing trend in late winter over eastern China, whereas the decreasing trend in early winter was not significant because of the dipole pattern with an increase of ECEs in northeast China and a decrease of ECEs in southeast China during the time period 1980–2021. This denoted that China was presenting a pattern of “cold early winter–warm late winter”. The feature of cold early winter was related to a significant increase in high-latitude blocking highs extending poleward and reaching the Arctic Circle in early winter during the last 20 years. In particular, there was a large-scale tilted high ridge from the Ural Mountains to northern Asia, which favored the negative phase of the Arctic oscillation. This, in turn, led to a strong Siberian high and East Asian winter monsoon. Strong cold advection related to the circulation anomalies caused an ECEs increase in northeast China and dominated the change in temperature over eastern China in early winter. By contrast, the decrease in ECEs in late winter in the last 20 years was more related to the interdecadal enhancement of the anticyclonic anomaly over the north Pacific (NPAC). The strong NPAC extended to East Asia in a zonal direction, causing strong warm anomalies in eastern China through warm advection and diabatic heating, which weakened the northerly and prevented the East Asian trough from moving south, resulting in a warmer East Asia and a uniform decrease in late winter.

Effect of Temperature Conditions in Arctic Offshore Oil Fields on the Rheological Properties of Various Based Drilling Muds

During well drilling in offshore conditions beyond the North of the Arctic Circle, there are often problems associated with deviations in the rheological parameters of the drilling mud as the temperature changes. Mud temperature in the upper part of the well in most cases is in the range up to 20 °C, whereas in the productive formation it is up to 80 °C and more. For such conditions, it is necessary to estimate the influence of temperature on the rheological parameters of drilling fluids, which is done in this paper. Compositions of water-based and hydrocarbon-based muds that may be used in the conditions of the offshore hydrocarbon fields were considered. The paper presents the authors’ formula for a drilling mud that possesses more stable rheological parameters in the temperature conditions of the offshore oil field and is more environmentally friendly. The physical properties of the newly designed drilling mud were measured with laboratory equipment. Rheological investigations were carried out under varying temperatures up to 80 °C. The results of the experiments show the newly designed drilling mud to be more stable than its hydrocarbon-based analogue. Besides, the newly developed composition has a lower content of solid phase, which is also an important parameter for the process of sea wells construction, often characterized by a narrow window of permissible pressure.

Microbial community structure and function of activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant at the Polar Arctic Circle as revealed by metatranscriptomic and next-generation sequencing

Next-generation sequencing and metatranscriptomic analysis were used to study the diversity and characterize the gene machinery in a cold bioreactor treating urban wastewater located near the Polar Artic Circle. The bacterial population was dominated by the family Comamonadaceae; archaeal population was highly represented by Methanococcales clones while class Sacharomycetes was the most abundant Fungi. Metatranscriptomic analysis demonstrated several cold adaptation mechanisms such as the expression of cold-shock protein (CspA),trigger factor (TF), antitermination protein NusA and polyribonucleoide nucleotidytransferase (PNP). Genes coding for transcriptional regulator WhiB and peptide deformylase (def), described as targets of novel antibiotics were detected as well as multidrug resistance proteins ( MdtC, MdtD) and genes encoding resistance to arsenicals (arsr) and cobalt-zinc-cadmium (czcc). Moreover, genes that encode UV radiation resistance ( uvrA) and expression of catalase and superoxide dismutase to protect against reactive oxygen species (ROS) were identified. Prokaryotic metabolism was mainly related to energy metabolism pathways, while eukaryote metabolism was related to protein metabolism. The most annotated reads belonged to viral particles, specifically RNA-1 polyprotein was the dominant which is involved in viral replication, suggesting wastewater may be an important reservoir of viruses in cold environments. Despite low-temperature, microbial community identified by massive parallel sequencing in the activated sludge demonstrated high diversity and evenness in comparison with others WWTPs. In addition, metatranscriptomics analysis revealed high functional diversity with mechanisms against cold-shock, as well as multidrug and heavy metals resistant genes, widely detected in WWTPs worldwide.

The impact of climate change on human settlement and adaptation in the north

The nature of the Arctic creates unique conditions in which, in order to adapt and develop new cities, a person needs to take into account the experience of previously created northern economic regions. The article considers the main natural factors affecting the construction and urbanization of cities, assesses the prospects for the development of settlements beyond the Arctic Circle and analyzes environmental factors affecting the creation of a network of cities with a population engaged in oil-producing activities on a permanent basis.

Arctic conferences as arenas for power games and collaboration in international relations

ABSTRACT International Relations (IR) considers states to be the central actors in the international system, and IR’s main theories have been heavily focused on great powers. While many scholars recognise that politics is about more than government and broadens the analytical emphasis to also include non-state, sub-national, sub-regional actors – conferences have attracted limited attention. Still, global conferences do function as arenas for states, non-state, sub-national and sub-regional entities to advance their interests and position within a region or within an issue area. Conferences are arenas for dialogue and cooperation, as well as for political games. This article adopts a comprehensive approach to what should be considered relevant empirical entities, and inquiries into the space for conferences in IR-analysis. The article applies realism and neoliberalism to conceptualise conferences within established frames of the discipline, and examine whether conferences can be instruments of statecraft, drivers of innovation, or contribute to shape preferences and outcomes. Applying these perspectives enables scholars to assess whether conferences have similar characteristics to institutions, or whether they should be treated as separate empirical entities within IR analysis. The article also questions the state-centric view of these perspectives by asking whether including conferences in analysis of policymaking can make an empirical contribution. Specifically, the article asks whether conferences produce outcomes that must be addressed when analysing how and where policy, diplomacy, deal-making and cooperation occur. The article looks specifically at the functions of conferences within Arctic governance, and the Arctic Circle Assembly in particular. The article accounts for the novel function conferences appear to have taken within Arctic governance – also for small states and non-state actors – and enquires what we can infer from this when examining both cooperation and interests within international relations.

Protective Finish for Use in the Arctic Circle

Protective Finish for Use in the Arctic Circle

The Opportunities for and Limitations on a Finnish Female Artist in Lapland before the Second World War

Abstract Since the 1840s in Finland, there have been equal possibilities for men and women to study art. This article examines the possibilities and limitations that women had to take into account to study fine arts. To understand the situation in Finland during the 1920s and 1930s, I use as a case the life and art of Maija Kellokumpu (1892–1935). She was an exceptional individual who lived in Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland. Her home village, Kelloselkä, is located about thirty-three miles north of the Arctic Circle and northeast near the present border between Finland and Russia. Maija Kellokumpu was the daughter of a religious, agricultural family from the small and traditional village. I study her life and her art from a microhistorical viewpoint; her biography is at the center, but it expands with contextualization: the salient frames of reference are northern culture and religion, the Finnish world of art, and the status of women. Finland was for one hundred years a part of the Russian Empire and became independent in December 1917. Soon, in the spring of 1918, the Finnish Civil War broke out and lasted four months. The young, independent country began to develop during the next few decades, but the development stopped in November 1939 when the Winter War started. As part of my study, I focus on the limitations and suspicions to which women's careers were subjected—some of which are based in the realms of religion, economics, and education, while some are art-world based in terms of the tension and distance between the art-center and peripheries, as well as the lack of money and patrons.

The Changing Epidemiology of Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE)

The study describes the changing epidemiology of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) based on a literature review. TBE case numbers were obtained from Austria, Germany, and Estonia for incidence calculations and for trend analyses at the county level. Currently, the TBEV is circulating in an area from the United Kingdom and France in the West to Japan in the East and from the arctic circle in Norway and Siberia down to Northern Italy, Kazakhstan and China. Over the last two decades, the TBEV was detected for the first time in Denmark, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Japan and also in higher altitudes of previously known endemic regions. TBE case numbers have been fluctuating with huge annual variations in central Europe (Germany, Austria), reaching an all-time high in 2020. Case numbers have been continuously increasing over recent decades in Norway, Sweden and Finland, whereas the TBE-epidemic curve was bell-shaped in 2 Northern-most Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia) with a huge peak in 1995 and 1997. However, the opposite (decreasing) trend was noted in some countries and TBE even disappeared from some previously highly endemic areas. Vaccination has a clear effect on TBE case numbers, which for example dropped from 677 in 1979 to 41 in 1999 (vaccine uptake at that time &gt;80%) in Austria. Incidence rates are an inappropriate tool to predict the risk for TBE in a given region due to a lack of valid surveillance and the unpredictability of the main driver for exposure to the TBEV: human outdoor activities and the risk definition by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control for arbovirus infections should be used instead.

A Resist‐Accept‐Direct (RAD) future for Salmon in Maine and California: Salmon at the southern edge

AbstractNorth American salmon once ranged from ocean waters near the Arctic Circle southward to southern New England on the Atlantic and Mexico on the Pacific. The colonial and industrial transformation of rivers and oceans have led to extirpation or endangered status of many southern populations. Today, chronic anthropogenic stressors interact with climate change, which means that effective conservation must address changes in transformed ecosystems. Conservation goals are designed to recover both the species and their habitats. While seemingly congruent, habitat and fish management have different timetables due to speed of changes in climate, habitat, and biological processes relative to regulatory processes, habitat restoration, and project implementation. The Resist‐Accept‐Direct (RAD) framework facilitated exploration of ideas and actions to restore suitable conditions for salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act at their southern edge. Creative and big solutions are needed to recover salmon and RAD provided a way to examine conservation options to sustain salmon in an era of change.

The Indicator Role of Algae in Assessing the Organic Pollution in the Lena River Delta, the Russian Arctic

The Lena River forms a delta, one of the largest in the world. The entire territory of the delta is part of the Ust-Lensky State Natural Reserve. The delta is located beyond the Arctic Circle in a continuous permafrost zone. The delta is crossed by numerous channels and has lakes, streams, hollows, and swamps. In the Russian Arctic sector, ambitious plans for the development of the oil industries are being implemented. This study goal was to determine the species composition of algae in the Lena River delta and to use their properties as indicators of organic water pollution as evidence of water ecosystem stress. The results of the study revealed 700 species from 10 phyla. Statistical analysis indicate that hydrological conditions are the main factor, which can be a stressor too regulating the spatial structure of the species composition of algal communities in the Lena River delta. The distribution of groups of indicators of organic pollution, trophic state, and type of nutrition of algal cells along the main water channels suggests that now a possible source of organic pollution may be the effect of mixing river and saline waters during high tide. It is evidenced by an increase in the number of mixotrophic organisms and indicators of increased trophic state. Therefore, the integral bioindication as a method that reveals hidden connections in the ecosystem can be useful for monitoring in the period of the accentuated development of the oil industries in this Arctic region.

The British Isles and the Arctic Circle: Episodes from the Past and Present

This study deals with aspects of Britain’s engagement with the region of the Arctic Circle, both in times past and during the present period. With regard to the past, it specifically looks at English and Scottish engagement with the area of Spitsbergen (present-day Svalbard, Norway), with a focus on exploration and whaling activities, and the competition that subsequently ensued with other European powers as a result. This also involves looking at legal issues that arose over time with regard to the archipelago. Furthermore, it examines how Svalbard has now once again become a source of contention, specifically between the European Union and Norway as a result of the allocation of fishing quotas that came about due to Brexit. This has caused tensions between the two entities, with both sides utilizing legal arguments to justify and bolster their positions. This incident is yet another example of the far-reaching impact that the restructuring of EU–UK relations has had as a result of the latter’s departure from the former. Lastly, the article also surveys British engagement with the Arctic region at the present time, including Scotland’s attempt at articulating an independent policy of engagement for itself with regard to the area.