@article {6389, title = {Seal Occurrence and Habitat Use during Summer in Petermann Fjord, Northwestern Greenland}, volume = {71(3):334}, year = {2018}, month = {September}, publisher = {Arctic Institute of North America}, abstract = {

Ice-associated seals are considered especially susceptible and are potentially the first to modify distribution and habitat use in response to physical changes associated with the changing climate. Petermann Glacier, part of a unique ice-tongue fjord environment in a rarely studied region of northwestern Greenland, lost substantial sections of its ice tongue during major 2010 and 2012 calving events. As a result, changes in seal habitat may have occurred. Seal occurrence and distribution data were collected in Petermann Fjord and adjacent Nares Strait region over 27 days (2 to 28 August) during the multidisciplinary scientific Petermann 2015 Expedition on the icebreaker Oden. During 239.4 hours of dedicated observation effort, a total of 312 individuals were recorded, representing four species: bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), hooded seal (Crystophora cristata), harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), and ringed seal (Pusa hispida). Ringed seals were recorded significantly more than the other species (\χ2 = 347.4, df = 3, p \< 0.001, n = 307). We found significant differences between species in haul-out (resting on ice) behavior (\χ2 = 133.1, df = 3, p \< 0.001, n = 307). Bearded seals were more frequently hauled out (73.1\% n = 49), whereas ringed seals were almost exclusively in water (93.9\%, n = 200). Differences in average depth and ice coverage where species occurred were also significant: harp seals and bearded seals were found in deeper water and areas of greater ice coverage (harp seals: 663 \± 366 m and 65 \± 14\% ice cover; bearded seals: 598 \± 259 m and 50 \± 21\% ice cover), while hooded seals and ringed seals were found in shallower water with lower ice coverage (hooded seals: 490 \± 163 m and 38 \± 19\% ice cover; ringed seals: 496 \± 235 m, and 21 \± 20\% ice cover). Our study provides an initial look at how High Arctic seals use the rapidly changing Petermann Fjord and how physical variables influence their distribution in one of the few remaining ice-tongue fjord environments.

}, keywords = {Petermann Glacier; marine mammals; ice-tongue fjord; Arctic seals; sea ice; Pusa hispida; Erignathus barbatus; Crystophora cristata; Pagophilus groenlandicus}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic4735}, url = {https://arctic.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/arctic/index.php/arctic/article/view/4735}, author = {Lomac-MacNair, K. and Martin Jakobsson and Mix, A C and Freire, Francis F and Hogan, Kelly and Larry A Mayer and Smultea, Mari Ann} } @article {6000, title = {The Petermann Glacier Experiment, NW Greenland}, year = {2016}, month = {December 12-16}, pages = {San Francisco, CA}, abstract = {

The Petermann Glacier Experiment is a comprehensive study on land, ocean, and ice in Northwest Greenland, staged from Swedish Icebreaker Oden in 2015 as a collaboration between the US, Sweden, UK, and Denmark. This talk introduces the strategic goals of the experiment and connects the various scientific results. Petermann Glacier drains a significant marine-based sector of the northern Greenland Ice Sheet and terminates in a floating ice tongue, one of the largest remaining systems of its kind in the northern hemisphere. Records of the modern state of Petermann Glacier and its past variations are of interest to understand the sensitivity of marine terminating outlet glaciers to change, and to constrain the rates and extent of changes that have actually occurred. With this case study we are learning the rules of large scale dynamics that cannot be understood from modern observations alone. Although past behavior is not an simple analog for the future, and no single system captures all possible behaviors, insights from these case studies can be applied through models to better project how similar systems may change in the future. The Petermann Expedition developed the first comprehensive bathymetric maps of the region, drilled through the floating ice tongue to obtain sub-shelf sediment cores near the grounding line and to monitor sub-ice conditions, recovered a broad array of sediment cores documenting changing oceanic conditions in Petermann Fjord, Hall Basin, and Nares Strait, measured watercolumn properties to trace subsurface watermasses that bring heat from the Arctic Ocean into deep Petermann Fjord to melt the base of the floating ice tongue, developed a detailed record of relative sealevel change on land to constrain past ice loads, and recovered pristine boulders for cosmogenic exposure dating of areal ice retreat on land. Together, these studies are shedding new light on the dynamics of past glaciation in Northwest Greenland, and contributing to fundamental understanding of large marine-terminating outlet glacier systems, which are threatened by global warming and poised to contribute to global sealevel rise in the future. Further information in the Petermann Glacier Experiment is available at https://petermannsglacialhistory.wordpress.com

}, keywords = {greenland, petermann glacier}, url = {https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm16/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/139793}, author = {Mix, A C and Martin Jakobsson and Andrews, J.T. and Jennings, A. and Larry A Mayer and Anderson, S.T. and Brook, E. and Ceperley, E. and Cheseby, M. and John E. Hughes Clarke and Dalerum, F. and Dyke, L.M. and Einarsson, D. and Erkisson, D.B. and Frojd, C. and Glueder, A. and Hedman, U. and Heirman, K. and Heuze, C. and Hogan, K. and Padman, J. and Pecnerova, P. and Reilly, B. and Reusche, M. and Ross, A. and Christian Stranne and Marcott, S.A. and Muenchow, A. and Stoner, J S and Andresen, C.S. and Nicholls, K.W. and Holm, C. and Kevin Jerram and Krutzfeld, J. and Nicolas, L. and Par, L. and Lomac-MacNair, K. and Madlener, S. and McKay, J. and Meijer, T. and Meiton, A. and Brian, M. and Mohammad, R. and Molin, M. and Moser, C. and Normark, E. and Trinhammer, P. and Walczak, M.H. and Walczak, P. and Washam, P. and Karasti, M. and Anker, P.} }