Ice-Free Corridor Sustained Arctic Marine Life during Last Ice Age

The new findings, which were published recently in Nature Communications, also reveal that the polynya was sustained for at least 5000 years, when the surroundings were largely covered by ice, and global ocean circulation was at a minimum.

Common today in Antarctica and Greenland

Today, polynyas are common around Antarctica and Greenland. They form through a combination of offshore winds blowing from nearby ice sheets and warm water rising from the deep ocean. In areas of extreme cold and little access to food, polynyas provide an oasis for marine mammals to survive and they are also critical for global ocean circulation.

“Polynyas in the polar regions are common nowadays, but it’s difficult to confirm their existence in the past. However, by finding chemical fossils of algae that live in the open ocean and in sea ice, we have shown that polynyas must have existed during the last Ice Age” says co-author Simon Belt, professor of chemistry at Plymouth University.

The research is of international importance since it shows the vulnerability of marine ecosystems in the northern oceans to periods of rapid climate change, as well as their adaptability to various extreme climate states.

Contacts and sources:
Jochen KniesCentre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT

Citation: Nordic Seas polynyas and their role in preconditioning marine productivity during the Last Glacial Maximum. Knies, J., Köseoğlu, D., Rise, L., Baeten, N., Bellec, V.K., Bøe, R., Klug, M., Panieri, G., Jernas, P.T., Belt, S.T, Nature Communications, 2018. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06252-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06252-8