Arctic Driftwood Research Articles

Cadophora arctica (Ploettnerulaceae, Helotiales), a new species from Franz Josef Land

A novel species in genus Cadophora is described as Cadophora arctica. The new species was isolated from, Franz Josef Land, Russia and is represented by ex-type strain VKM F-5011. To characterize the species, we used a polyphasic taxonomic approach. A description based on morphological characters is given and it is shown that the new species is morphologically different from closely related species (to C. caespitosa, C. fastigiata, C. melinii and C. rotunda). Partial sequences of internal transcribed spacer rDNA region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2), D1/D2 region of 28S rDNA (LSU), the loci encoding β-tubulin (BenA) and partial translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF1) were analyzed as well. Sequences data, macro- and micromorphological characteristics distinguish C. arctica from all known species in genus Cadophora. C. arctica, isolated from Arctic drift wood, is able to grow at 2°C and is considered a psychrotolerant species.

Granulometric characterization of Arctic driftwood sawdust from frame sawing process

Arctic driftwood can be used as an alternative source of wood as construction timber and furniture material, especially in Iceland and Greenland. The use of Arctic driftwood can help in the fight against climate change, by developing land reforestation processes and reducing the volume harvested wood from forests and sustainability of harvesting processes. In this paper the results of an analysis of the effect of long-term residence of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and larch wood (Larix sibirica L.) stay in Arctic ice and seawater on the granulation of wood sawdust and the distribution of fine wood dust particles during the frame sawing process are presented. The distribution of wood chips and dust was analysed using sieve and laser diffraction methods. The results confirmed that Arctic driftwood, compared to normal wood for both analysed species, generate slightly more fine wood dust particles during the frame sawing process, which can be harmful to human health. However, these differences are not significant, indicating that the same dust extraction systems can be used for both sawing processes.

Timber as a Marine Resource: Exploitation of Arctic Driftwood in the North Atlantic

Abstract The North Atlantic islands of the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland have always been relatively poor in terms of native timber resources, due to their cold climate and exposed topography. Nevertheless, timber was vital to the material culture of the Norse settlers of these islands, and driftwood often met this need. As in subarctic Norway, where trees are also scarce, driftwood use and ownership were prescribed in medieval law codes. Historical documentary evidence shows that wealthy landowners bought driftwood rights as valuable assets, and ethnohistorical sources reveal a wide range of local and regional customs related to driftwood exploitation. However, driftwood was an unstable resource, and its delivery depended on a range of unpredictable factors related to climate and ocean currents. There is also ongoing debate regarding the relative importance of imported timber, which is for example often referenced in the Icelandic sagas. The use of driftwood is difficult to demonstrate through macroscopic, microscopic, or (geo-)chemical analysis. Similarities in the microscopic anatomy of boreal wood taxa preclude definitive provenancing through taxonomic analysis, and material traces of immersion in seawater are often either impermanent or ambiguous, especially in archaeological wood remains. This paper presents a comprehensive review of current historical and archaeological research on the exploitation of driftwood timber in the Medieval North Atlantic and explores potential future directions in this field. Furthermore, it asserts that this line of research should be pursued with some urgency, as anthropogenic climate change threatens both driftwood delivery and the preservation of archaeological wood remains.

The importance of Arctic driftwood for interdisciplinary global change research (Short Communication / Methodological note)

The Arctic is one of the regions most sensitive to global warming, for which climate and environmental proxy archives are largely insufficient. Arctic driftwood provides a unique resource for research into the circumpolar entanglements of terrestrial, coastal and marine factors and processes – past, present, future. Here, first dendrochronological and wood anatomical insights into 639 Arctic driftwood samples are presented. Samples were collected across northern Norway (n =430) and north-western Iceland (n =209) in 2022. The overall potentials and limitations of Arctic driftwood to improve tree-ring chronologies from the boreal forest, and to reconstruct changes in sea ice extent and ocean current dynamics are discussed. Finally, the role driftwood has possibly played for Arctic settlements in the past hundreds of years is examined.

Predicted sea-ice loss will terminate Iceland's driftwood supply by 2060 CE

Driftwood supply was a pivotal factor for the Norse expansion in medieval times and still exhibits an essential resource for Arctic settlements. The physical causes and societal consequences of long-term changes in the distribution of Arctic driftwood are, however, poorly understood. Here, we use dendrochronology to reconstruct the age and origin of 289 driftwood samples that were collected at remote shorelines in northeast Iceland. Based on 240 reference tree-ring width chronologies from the boreal forest zone, and an overall provenance success of 73%, we show that most of the driftwood is pine and larch from the Yenisei catchment in central Siberia. Our study reveals an abrupt decline in the amount of driftwood reaching Iceland since the 1980s, which is corroborated by the experience of local farmers and fishers. Despite the direct and indirect effects of changes in both, logging activity across Siberia as well as Arctic Ocean currents, the predicted amount of sea-ice loss under anthropogenic global warming is likely to terminate Iceland's driftwood supply by 2060 CE.

Dropped in the Ocean – 87Sr/86Sr as a provenance tool for ice-rafted Arctic driftwood

Provenance and age determinations of driftwood provide insights into Holocene Arctic Ocean surface currents and sea ice dynamics, with detailed reconstructions requiring a provenance methodology with fine temporal and spatial resolution. Determination of wood geographical provenance by genus data is limited by its spatially coarse resolution, while provenance by dendrochronological crossdating is reliant on available boreal forest reference chronologies which are abundant for recent centuries but more sparse for older periods of the Holocene. We present the development of novel techniques to refine the provenance of driftwood through radiogenic isotopic analysis ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr). The use of geochemical techniques addresses limitations of current methods and opens the possibility of defining the role of atmospheric and oceanic circulation in sea ice and climatic changes throughout the Holocene at a finer spatial resolution than currently possible. This study investigates and develops geochemical 87 Sr/ 86 Sr fingerprinting of Arctic driftwood. To this end, it analyses driftwood samples from northern Svalbard and compares this technique with provenance regions obtained through dendrochronology, and with modelled and measured global 87 Sr/ 86 Sr reference databases. We conclude that the utilisation of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios to establish provenance for Arctic driftwood has some potential, but identify important limitations in the method, concerning both the signal in samples and reference values required for provenance. Increased sample populations and source samples for calibration, as well as methodological improvements that address the likely overprinting linked to driftwood transport, are recommended to build upon this work. We conclude that at present dendro-provenancing continues to be the most powerful method to study sea ice dynamics from Arctic driftwood and suggest that given the high spatial granularity of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr across the boreal forest, this technique might only be usable in combination with previously developed provenance tools and reconstructions. This study provides a first step in the use of radiogenic isotopic analysis in a multi-proxy reconstruction of Holocene driftwood incursion onto high Arctic shorelines. • Driftwood is a novel tool for insights into Holocene Arctic sea ice dynamics. • Fine spatial and temporal resolution of driftwood provenance is needed. • Geochemical 87 Sr/ 86 Sr fingerprinting of Arctic driftwood is explored in this study. • 87 Sr/ 86 Sr shows some promise, with limitations in reference data and sample signals. • We conclude that a combined approach to driftwood provenance shows the most promise.

The origin of driftwood on eastern and south-western Svalbard

The Arctic is one of the regions where the effect of global change is most evident. Associated with warming are changes in snow, sea ice and hydroclimate, all which have significant impacts on environments and society. However, due to short observational records, it is difficult to set the current climate in a long-term context. Arctic driftwood (DW), available throughout the Holocene, is a paleoclimate resource that may shed information on past sea-ice, ocean current and atmospheric conditions because it is transported by sea ice across the Arctic. Moreover, DW tree-ring data can be used to interpret climate in the boreal forests where the trees grew. Here we present a study of 380 DW samples collected on eastern and south-western Svalbard. Combining species identification and dendrochronology, it was found that the DW mainly consisted of Pinus sylvestris, Picea sp. and Larix sp. (87% of all samples), mainly originating from northern Russia. In total, 60% of the DW could be dated and their provenance determined, and four tree-ring width chronologies representing Yenisei and Dvina-Pechora were constructed, facilitating extension and improvement of the existing chronologies representing those regions. Moreover, DW from relict beaches that can be subjected to dendrochronological analyses, provides possibilities to extend pan-Arctic tree-ring data even further back in time. Because there are several processes governing the temporal patterns of wood deposition in the Arctic, using DW as an indicator of sea-ice variations needs further investigation.

Characterization of Arctic Driftwood as Naturally Modified Material. Part 1: Machinability

Arctic driftwood has reached the coast of Iceland for centuries. This material was used by the inhabitants of the island as a building material for houses, boats, churches and pasture fences. Nowadays, the driftwood is used in the furniture industry, for the finishing of internal and external walls of buildings and also by artists. The properties of driftwood differ to that of original resource due the long-term effects of exposure to Arctic Sea water and ice. This process can be considered as a natural modification, even if its effect on various wood properties and the potential use of driftwood are not yet fully understand. This research is focused on the comparison of cutting forces measured for Siberian larch (Larix sibirica L.) from Siberia provenance and driftwood found on the coast of Iceland. The cutting forces were determined directly from the cutting power signal that was recorded during the frame sawing process. A new procedure for compensation of the late/early wood ratio variation within annual rings is proposed to homogenize mechanical properties of wood. It allows a direct comparison of machinability for both types of larch wood investigated (driftwood and natural). Noticeable differences of normalized cutting force values were noticed for both wood types, which were statistically significant for two set values of feed per tooth. These results provide a new understanding of the effect of the drifting process in the Arctic Sea (natural modification) on mechanical and physical properties of wood. Such a natural modification may influence transformation processes of driftwood as well as performance of the coating systems applied on its surface.

Out of the woods: Driftwood insights into Holocene pan‐Arctic sea ice dynamics

AbstractThe collation of 913 driftwood samples from across the western Arctic, with spatiotemporal distribution and available provenance data, enabled the production of a high‐resolution proxy‐based reconstruction of Holocene Arctic Ocean surface current and sea ice dynamics. Regionally bounded, driftwood‐based sea ice reconstructions studies suggest spatiotemporally complex past Arctic sea ice extent and movement; however, a large‐scale compilation of Holocene Arctic driftwood has not previously been developed. Sparse driftwood in the early Holocene (≥8.2 cal ka B.P.) deglacial period was followed by increased driftwood deposition in the warmer mid‐Holocene (8.2–4.2 cal ka B.P.); characterized by an enhanced Transpolar Drift (TPD) ∼7 cal ka B.P., leading to sea ice loss through the Fram Strait. Driftwood incursion peaks show spatial E‐W progression from the Eurasian Archipelagos to Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, suggesting a progressive shift in the orientation of the TPD on centennial‐millennial time scales and intermediate phases in the Arctic Oscillation. Late Holocene cooling (≤4.2 cal ka B.P.) is indicated by increased influx of probably North American Picea via a strengthened Beaufort Gyre (BG) which enhanced sea ice recirculation, starting in the western Arctic and progressing eastward. In recent millennia (<2 cal ka B.P.), a more variable driftwood record alternates between BG and TPD dominance on centennial time scales. To further constrain a spatiotemporal reconstruction of variations in Holocene ocean current and sea ice dynamics, a more definitive determination of driftwood provenance is recommended to build upon the current framework, such as through radiogenic isotope tracing and aDNA analysis.

Dendro-provenancing of Arctic driftwood

Arctic driftwood may represent a cross-disciplinary proxy archive at the interface of marine and terrestrial environments, which will likely gain in importance under future global climate change. Circumpolar network analyses that systematically consider species-specific boreal origin areas, transport routes and deposition characteristics of Arctic driftwood, are, however, missing. Here, we present tree-ring width (TRW) measurements of 2412 pine, larch and spruce driftwood samples from Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, the Faroe Islands, and the Lena Delta in northeastern Siberia. Representing the largest Arctic driftwood TRW compilation, these data are compared against 495 TRW reference chronologies from the boreal forests of Eurasia and North America. The southern Yenisei region is the main source for recent pine driftwood at all Arctic sampling sites, whereas spruce mainly originates in western Russia and central Siberia, as well as in northern North America. Larch driftwood is, for the first time, dendro-provenanced to central and eastern Siberia. A new larch driftwood chronology extends the middle Lena River reference chronology back to 1203 CE. Annually resolved radiocarbon measurements further date six larch driftwood chronologies between 1294 and 2013 CE. Although being highly replicated, our study emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary research efforts including radiocarbon dating, isotopic tracing and aDNA processing for improving Arctic driftwood provenancing in space and time. If successful, Arctic driftwood studies will contribute to the reconstruction of past boreal summer temperature variations and ocean current dynamics, as well as changes in sea ice extent and relative sea level over the last centuries to millennia.

Effects of Boreal Timber Rafting on the Composition of Arctic Driftwood

Wood from the boreal forest represents an important resource for paper production and sawmill processing. Due to poor infrastructure and high transportation costs on land, timbers are often transported over long distances along large river systems. Industrial river rafting activities started at the end of the 19th century and were intensified in western Russia and central Siberia from the 1920s to the 1980s. After initial single stem rafting, timber is today mostly floated in ship-guided rafts. Lost wood can be transported further to the Arctic Ocean, where it may drift within sea ice over several years and thousands of kilometers before being deposited along (sub-)Arctic coastlines. Here, we introduce dendro-dated tree-ring width series of 383 driftwood samples from logged timber that were collected along different driftwood-recipient coastlines in Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. The majority of driftwood is Pinus sylvestris from the southern Yenisei region in central Siberia, whereas Larix sp. and Picea sp. from western Russia and eastern Siberia are rare. Although our results are based on a small sample collection, they clearly show the importance of timber rafting on species, age and origin of Arctic driftwood and indicate the immense loss of material during wood industrial river floating.

Using Arctic driftwood at the interface of marine and terrestrial (paleo-)environmental research

Using Arctic driftwood at the interface of marine and terrestrial (paleo-)environmental research

Arctic driftwood reveals unexpectedly rich fungal diversity

Abstract Arctic driftwood can provide unique insight into the diversity of colonizing and decaying fungi at the interface of extremely cold terrestrial and marine environments. Entering the Arctic Ocean via large boreal river systems and being transported by currents and sea ice, driftwood is finally deposited along shallow coastlines. Here, we sequence 177 fungal cultures in driftwood from Iceland, Greenland and the Siberian Lena Delta. Although some fungi may survive during ice drift, most species are not shared among the different sampling sites. Many indigenous Arctic fungi are generalists in their ability to colonize and decompose organic substrata, with massive effects on carbon cycling. Cadophora species are the most frequent Ascomycota, and soft rot is the most prevalent form of decay. Few Basidiomycota were found, with many of them having poor sequence matches to known species. Future research is warranted with a focus on the biology, ecology and taxonomy of Arctic driftwood inhabiting fungi.

Regional coherency of boreal forest growth defines Arctic driftwood provenancing

Arctic driftwood represents a unique proxy archive at the interface of marine and terrestrial environments. Combined wood anatomical and dendrochronological analyses have been used to detect the origin of driftwood and may allow past timber floating activities, as well as past sea ice and ocean current dynamics to be reconstructed. However, the success of driftwood provenancing studies depends on the length, number, and quality of circumpolar boreal reference chronologies. Here, we introduce a Eurasian-wide high-latitude network of 286 ring width chronologies from the International Tree Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) and 160 additional sites comprising the three main boreal conifers Pinus, Larix, and Picea. We assess the correlation structure within the network to identify growth patterns in the catchment areas of large Eurasian rivers, the main driftwood deliverers. The occurrence of common growth patterns between and differing patterns within catchments indicates the importance of biogeographic zones for ring width formation and emphasizes the degree of spatial precision when provenancing. Reference chronologies covering millennial timescales are so far restricted to a few larch sites in Central and Eastern Siberia (eastern Taimyr, Yamal Peninsula and north-eastern Yakutia), as well as several pine sites in Scandinavia, where large rivers are missing though. The general good spatial coverage of tree-ring sites across northern Eurasia indicates the need for updating and extending existing chronologies rather than developing new sites.

Timber Logging in Central Siberia is the Main Source for Recent Arctic Driftwood

Recent findings indicated spruce from North America and larch from eastern Siberia to be the dominating tree species of Arctic driftwood throughout the Holocene. However, changes in source region forest and river characteristics, as well as ocean current dynamics and sea ice extent likely influence its spatiotemporal composition. Here, we present 2556 driftwood samples from Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and the Faroe Islands. A total of 498 out of 969 Pinus sylvestris ring width series were cross-dated at the catchment level against a network of Eurasian boreal reference chronologies. The central Siberian Yenisei and Angara Rivers account for 91% of all dated pines, with their outermost rings dating between 1804 and 1999. Intensified logging and timber rafting along the Yenisei and Angara in the mid-20th century, together with high discharge rates, explain the vast quantity of material from this region and its temporal peak ca. 1960. Based on the combined application of wood-anatomical and dendrochronological techniques on a well-replicated data set, our results question the assumption that Arctic driftwood mainly consists of millennial-old larch and spruce. Nevertheless, data from other species and regions, together with longer boreal reference chronologies, are needed for generating reliable proxy archives at the interface of marine and terrestrial environments.

Tracing the origin of Arctic driftwood

Tracking the origin of driftwood samples could help scientists to reconstruct past currents in the Arctic Ocean, a new study suggests. Arctic currents are likely to be affected by changing climate, but there are few observations that provide evidence on past ocean current dynamics.

Tracing the origin of Arctic driftwood

Arctic environments, where surface temperatures increase and sea ice cover and permafrost depth decrease, are very sensitive to even slight climatic variations. Placing recent environmental change of the high‐northern latitudes in a long‐term context is, however, complicated by too short meteorological observations and too few proxy records. Driftwood may represent a unique cross‐disciplinary archive at the interface of marine and terrestrial processes. Here, we introduce 1445 driftwood remains from coastal East Greenland and Svalbard. Macroscopy and microscopy were applied for wood anatomical classification; a multi‐species subset was used for detecting fungi; and information on boreal vegetation patterns, circumpolar river systems, and ocean current dynamics was reviewed and evaluated. Four conifer (Pinus,Larix,Picea, andAbies) and three deciduous (Populus,Salix, andBetula) genera were differentiated. Species‐specific identification also separatedPinus sylvestrisandPinus sibirica, which account for ~40% of all driftwood and predominantly originate from western and central Siberia. Larch and spruce from Siberia or North America represents ~26% and ~18% of all materials, respectively. Fungal colonization caused different levels of driftwood staining and/or decay. Our results demonstrate the importance of combining wood anatomical knowledge with insight on boreal forest composition for successfully tracing the origin of Arctic driftwood. To ultimately reconstruct spatiotemporal variations in ocean currents, and to better quantify postglacial uplift rates, we recommend consideration of dendrochronologically dated material from many more circumpolar sites.

Mackenzie River Driftwood: A Dendrochronological Study

As part of a general study of arctic driftwood, 206 samples of driftwood logs from the Mackenzie delta area were analyzed by dendrochronological methods (tree-ring studies). The aim was to detect the origin of the wood. Three forest stands in the delta were also sampled, and tree-ring chronologies were constructed. The Mackenzie driftwood can be divided into four groups: 1) driftwood originating from the upper Mackenzie delta with individual logs having up to 600 tree rings, 2) driftwood originating near the southern limit of the delta, 3) wood with relatively few tree rings with possible origin in the Liard River drainage area, and 4) driftwood samples not datable with any available chronologies. Three driftwood samples from the coast of Greenland could be correlated with tree-ring chronologies from the Mackenzie delta area and another three were correlated with chronologies from Alaska. American driftwood has not been detected in collections from Svalbard and Iceland, although more than 200 samples have been analyzed from each area. Key words: Mackenzie River, driftwod, dendrochronology, Arctic Ocean, East Greenland Current, surface currents, drift ice, Canada, Alaska

Driftwood in Svalbard as an Indicator of Sea Ice Conditions

The amount and type of driftwood logs on raised beaches in Svalbard probably indicate variations in sea ice conditions through time in the Arctic Ocean. This idea is based on the fact that wood floating in water has a limited buoyancy. The maximum period of buoyancy for coniferous wood (Picea/spruce, Larix/larch, Pinus/pine) is between 10 and 17 months: for broadleaves (Betula/birch, Salix/willow, Populus/aspen) from 6 to 10 months. The buoyancy depends on many circumstances but foremost on the properties and basic density of wood when the drift starts. Two dominant drift features are evident in the Arctic Ocean. The Pacific Gyral has a clockwise circulation in the Beaufort Sea. There are large variations in the rate of drift of this circulation, but the average speed is probably 700-800 km/year. The Transpolar Drift Stream runs from the Siberian coast to Svalbard and north Greenland and the average drift rate 600 km/year may be close to the actual net speed of an ice floe or a log of driftwood. The passage from the Siberian coast to the Svalbard area takes, roughly, five years. A trunk with the best possible buoyancy sinks after a third of that time. However, because of rafting on or in the sea ice, driftwood logs land on the islands of Svalbard. Most of the wood on the eastern islands of the archipelago is coniferous wood of Siberian origin. There are at least two easily noticeable zones on the shores with raised beaches where the amount of driftwood is small. These zones probably represent climatic conditions with periods of summers; a high percentage of open water and a northerly position of the ice limit. Introduction and field work During the YMER-80 expedition in July and August 1980, field investigations were made in the Svalbard area (Schytt 1981). The research of the land parties was concentrated to studies of the present and Pleistocene glaciation of Svalbard. A field party with six members worked primarily with lake sediments in Nordaustlandet and another party on Storoya with glaciological investigations. A third group, Lars Brydsten, Anders Haggblom and Ann-Cathrine Ulfstedt started the field work on Glenhalvoya, Nordaustlandet. Brydsten and Haggblom continued the field investigations at Braastadskardet, the north coast of Hopen and later on Kapp Platen, Nordaustlandet. The icebreaker Ymer called at both Stor6ya and Murchison Bay (Kinnvika, the old polar research station from I.G.Y. 1957-59) on her way to Longyearbyen. Members of the landparties left Svalbard by the regular airline to Norway. Already after our investigations on Hopen in 1965 (cf. Hoppe et al. 1969) the interest was focused on driftwood. An interpretation of both the origin of wood and the varying amount of driftwood on the raised beaches seemed important. The field studies of beach morphology and Arctic driftwood were therefore included as a part of the land-based research during YMER-80. The icebreaker and research vessel Ymer was an excellent base for both the scientific work and the important transports. Driftwood in the Arctic The occurrence of driftwood along Arctic beaches was noted by the first polar explorers. The driftwood along the beaches of Iceland was described in detail as regards type, amount, economic usefulness and origin by Olavius in an economic report from Iceland (Olavius 1780). The biological context of the driftwood in northern Svalbard, particularly that from Ltagoya, was described by Pennant in 1784. This resource had been exploited by people of the Arctic cultures long before that. When Eurola (1971) published a summary of earlier studies concerning Arctic driftwood, he noted that one hundred years had passed since Agardh's (1869) classical work on driftwood appeared. Eurola also describes botanical analyses of the wood structure of 19 of his own samples from Agardh Bay in Spitsbergen. Common to previous studies of driftwood have been analyses of wood structure in order to Geografiska Annaler 64 A (1982) 1-2 81 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.144 on Wed, 07 Sep 2016 05:24:27 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms