Increase in Arctic Ocean Nutrients from Permafrost Thaw and Coastal Erosion

Nature Communications, January 8

Rapid coastal and riverbank erosion due to thawing permafrost today is one of the main sources of nitrogen nutrients in the Arctic Ocean, contributing around 30-50% of the total input (the rest is transferred from neighboring seas and oceans). This land-derived nitrogen off the Arctic continental shelves boosts the productivity of phytoplankton, and carries this energy up the entire food chain; but also can produce blooms that eutrophy Arctic waters, with regions that lack sufficient oxygen and may cause die-offs of fish and other larger species. This increased nutrient input from thawing permafrost regions will affect the future Arctic Ocean ecosystem in unpredictable ways, with some regions showing increased productivity and fish availability one season, yet potentially producing “dead zones” the next.

https://https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20470-z

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