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Some 99 % of plastic debris projected to enter our oceans has not been captured by current global litter estimates based on empirical data. It has been speculated that a large fraction of plastic debris evades our detection through fragmentation into small particle sizes, uptake by biota and accumulation in remote environments such as the deep ocean floor, which covers 60 % of the Earth. Here, we analysed nine sediment samples taken at the HAUSGARTEN observatory in the Arctic at 2,340 – 5,570 m depths by Attenuated Total Reflection FTIR and µFTIR spectroscopy. Our results indicate the widespread occurrence of high numbers of microplastics (MP) in Arctic deep-sea sediments (44 – 3,463 MP L-1). The northernmost two stations harboured the highest MP quantities, indicating the importance of sea ice. A positive correlation between MP and chlorophyll a suggests vertical export via incorporation in sinking (ice-) algal aggregates. Overall, 18 different polymer types were detected dominated by chlorinated polyethylene (38 %), polyamide (22 %) and polypropylene (16 %). Almost 80 % of the MPs were ≤ 25µm. Many previous studies did not capture this size, which may partly explain why the MP concentrations are amongst the highest recorded from benthic sediments so far. MP quantities on the seafloor are 2 - 3 magnitudes higher than at the sea surface (Tekman et al.) indicating that the deep Arctic seafloor is a major sink for MP. This highlights the need to incorporate data from the deep sea into global litter estimates if we want to tackle the question ‘Where is all the plastic?’

Purpose of this document is the documentation of the ICETrack application developed at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. This document will give a short description of the routines and methods applied to monitor key areas and calculate sea ice trajectories using sea ice motion and concentration data from satellites and additional parameters extracted along pathways of sea ice. Some of the results of the ICETrack application are publically available for download and a technical description of the data format is given here.

An anomalous warm winter 2015–2016 lead to the lowest winter ice extent and highlights the sensitivity of the Arctic sea ice. Here we use the 6 year record of an improved sea ice thickness product retrieved from data fusion of CryoSat-2 radar altimetry and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity radiometry measurements to examine the impact of recent temperature trend on the Arctic ice mass balance. Between November 2015 and March 2016, we find a consistent drop of cumulative freezing degree days across the Arctic, with a negative peak anomaly of about 1000 degree days in the Barents Sea, coinciding with an Arctic-wide average thinning of 10 cm in March with respect to the 6 year average. In particular, the loss of ice volume is associated with a significant decline of March first-year ice volume by 13%. This reveals that due to the loss of multiyear ice during previous years, the Arctic ice cover becomes more sensitive to climate anomalies.

Antarctic krill Euphausia superba (“krill”) constitute a fundamental food source for Antarctic seabirds and mammals, and a globally important fisheries resource. The future resilience of krill to climate change depends critically on the winter survival of young krill. To survive periods of extremely low production by pelagic algae during winter, krill are assumed to rely partly on carbon produced by ice algae. The true dependency on ice algae-produced carbon, however, is so far unquantified. This confounds predictions on the future resilience of krill stocks to sea ice decline. Fatty acid (FA) analysis, bulk stable isotope analysis (BSIA), and compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) of diatom- and dinoflagellate-associated marker FAs were applied to quantify the dependency of overwintering larval, juvenile, and adult krill on ice algae-produced carbon (αIce) during winter 2013 in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence Zone. Our results demonstrate that the majority of the carbon uptake of the overwintering larval and juvenile krill originated from ice algae (up to 88% of the carbon budget), and that the dependency on ice algal carbon decreased with ontogeny, reaching <56% of the carbon budget in adults. Spatio-temporal variability in the utilization of ice algal carbon was more pronounced in larvae and juvenile krill than in adults. Differences between αIce estimates derived from short- vs. long-term FA-specific isotopic compositions suggested that ice algae-produced carbon gained importance as the winter progressed, and might become critical at the late winter-spring transition, before the phytoplankton bloom commences. Where the sea ice season shortens, reduced availability of ice algae might possibly not be compensated by surplus phytoplankton production during wintertime. Hence, sea ice decline could seriously endanger the winter survival of recruits, and subsequently overall biomass of krill.

Neodymium (Nd) isotopes (expressed as εNd) and rare earth elements (REEs) in seawater have been successfully used to trace water mass mixing in the Arctic region [1,2,3]. However, the potential to trace the origin of drifting Arctic sea ice with εNd and REEs has not yet been directly explored. Freshwater originating from various Siberian rivers is mixed and diluted prior to its advection to the central Arctic Ocean and the Fram Strait, thereby inhibiting an assessment of the individual contribution of the different rivers [1,2]. In contrast, sea ice may preserve the marine or riverine εNd and REE signatures from Siberian shelf waters while transported across the Arctic Ocean. This mechanism is demonstrated here for the first time by comparing εNd and REE signatures determined from unfiltered but essentially sediment-free sea ice with corresponding signatures expected for surface seawater in the formation region of the ice. Sea-ice cores were recovered in the Eurasian Basin of the central Arctic Ocean in 2012. Based on satellite-derived ice drift and concentration data, some of the sea-ice floes sampled formed east of Vilkitsky Strait and are characterized by εNd values near -8 in agreement with the incorporation of radiogenic freshwater (εNd- 6) from the Yenisei and Ob rivers [4]. A second sea-ice source was located north of the Laptev Sea as reflected by εNd values near -11, which is consistent with mixed contributions of radiogenic waters from the Kara Sea and northward flowing highly unradiogenic freshwater (εNd< -15) of the Lena River [4]. These first data suggest that Nd isotopes can trace both the origin of drifting sea ice and of freshwater. The REE concentrations in the ice are depleted compared to those in Siberian shelf waters, indicating salt-associated REE rejection during sea-ice formation. [1] Laukert et al.(2017) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 202, 285-309. [2] Porcelli et al. (2009)Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73, 2645-2659. [3] Andersson et al. (2008) Geochim

Although mounting evidence suggests the ubiquity of microplastic in aquatic ecosystems worldwide, our knowledge of its distribution in remote environments such as Polar Regions and the deep sea is scarce. Here, we analyzed nine sediment samples taken at the HAUSGARTEN observatory in the Arctic at 2340–5570 m depth. Density separation by MicroPlastic Sediment Separator and treatment with Fenton’s reagent enabled analysis via Attenuated Total Reflection FTIR and μFTIR spectroscopy. Our analyses indicate the wide spread of high numbers of microplastics (42–6595 microplastics kg–1). The northernmost stations harbored the highest quantities, indicating sea ice as a possible transport vehicle. A positive correlation between microplastic abundance and chlorophyll a content suggests vertical export via incorporation in sinking (ice-) algal aggregates. Overall, 18 different polymers were detected. Chlorinated polyethylene accounted for the largest proportion (38%), followed by polyamide (22%) and polypropylene (16%). Almost 80% of the microplastics were ≤25 μm. The microplastic quantities are among the highest recorded from benthic sediments. This corroborates the deep sea as a major sink for microplastics and the presence of accumulation areas in this remote part of the world, fed by plastics transported to the North via the Thermohaline Circulation. The microplastic quantities are amongst the highest recorded from benthic sediments, which corroborates the deep sea as a major sink for microplastics and the presence of accumulation areas in this remote part of the world, fed by plastics transported to the North via the Thermohaline Circulation.

The Arctic Observatory FRAM (FRontiers in Arctic Marine Monitoring) targets a modern vision of integrated underwater infrastructure in the polar environment. Since 2014 this modular observatory is being build up in Fram-Strait and the Central Arctic by the Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) to become a major research infrastructure of the Earth and Environment research field of the Helmholtz Association. FRAM enhances sustainable knowledge of the remote and harsh Arctic environment for science, society and maritime economy as it enables truly year round multidisciplinary observations from sea ice to the deep sea. Cutting edge mobile and fixed sensor platforms and technologies like e.g. ROV’s, AUV’s, under water robotics, and moorings are being (further) developed and used in combination with ship based instruments to record various essential ocean variables to improve our understanding of the Arctic Ocean, it’s essential processes, and how they are being impacted by continued warming and decreasing sea ice extend. Field data are being cross validated by satellite observations and used to improve model simulations. Data will be made freely available to the public via the AWI data portal.

A dominant Antarctic ecological paradigm suggests that winter sea ice is generally the main feeding ground for krill larvae. Observations from our winter cruise to the southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean contradict this view and present the first evidence that the pack-ice zone is a food-poor habitat for larval development. In contrast, the more open marginal ice zone provides a more favourable food environment for high larval krill growth rates. We found that complex under-ice habitats are, however, vital for larval krill when water column productivity is limited by light, by providing structures that offer protection from predators and to collect organic material released from the ice. The larvae feed on this sparse ice-associated food during the day. After sunset, they migrate into the water below the ice (upper 20 m) and drift away from the ice areas where they have previously fed. Model analyses indicate that this behaviour increases both food uptake in a patchy food environment and the likelihood of overwinter transport to areas where feeding conditions are more favourable in spring.

Sea ice is an important vehicle for sediment transport in the Arctic Ocean. On the Laptev Sea shelf (Siberian Arctic) large volumes of sediment-laden sea ice are formed during freeze-up in autumn, then exported and transported across the Arctic Ocean into Fram Strait where it partly melts. The incorporated sediments are released, settle on the sea floor, and serve as a proxy for ice-transport in the Arctic Ocean on geological time scales. However, the formation process of sediment-laden ice in the source area has been scarcely observed. Sediment-laden ice was sampled during a helicopter-based expedition to the Laptev Sea in March/April 2012. Sedimentological, biogeochemical and biological studies on the ice core as well as in the water column give insights into the formation process and, in combination with oceanographic process studies, on matter fluxes beneath the sea ice. Based on satellite images and ice drift back-trajectories the sediments were likely incorporated into the sea ice during a mid-winter coastal polynya near one of the main outlets of the Lena River, which is supported by the presence of abundant freshwater diatoms typical for the Lena River phytoplankton, and subsequently transported about 80 km northwards onto the shelf. Assuming ice growth of 12 –19 cm during this period and mean suspended matter content in the newly formed ice of 91.9 mg l− 1 suggests that a minimum sediment load of 8.4×10 4 t might have been incorporated into sea ice. Extrapolating these sediment loads for the entire Lena Delta region suggests that at least 65% of the estimated sediment loads which are incorporated during freeze-up, and up to 10% of the annually exported sediment load may be incorporated during an event such as described in this paper.

Purpose of this document is the documentation of the ICETrack application developed at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. This document will give a short description of the routines and methods applied to monitor key areas and calculate sea ice trajectories using sea ice motion and concentration data from satellites and additional parameters extracted along pathways of sea ice. Some of the results of the ICETrack application are publically available for download and a technical description of the data format is given here.

The ongoing decrease in sea ice thickness and extent is expected to have significant implications for protists in the Arctic Ocean. We analyzed protist community composition and diversity in water and sea ice samples to elucidate the impact of sea ice retreat and sea ice origin. Samples were collected during 2 summer periods with contrasting sea ice concentrations (2011 and 2012). The results are based on a combination of ARISA and sequencing of the 18S rRNA V4 gene region. We show for the first time that the regions of ice floe origin play a fundamental role in structuring the sea ice community. Community structure of pelagic protists correlated signifi- cantly with sea ice concentrations, water masses and sampling regions. Both habitats differed in protist diversity and composition between years and were less diverse during the recorded sea ice minimum year 2012. A reduction in protist diversity was especially true for rare sea ice algae in 2012, which suggests that sea ice algae might be more vulnerable to climate change. In the future Arctic, changes in protist diversity can be expected due to sea ice decline and a temporal and spatial shift in sea ice formation

Atmospheric methane concentrations in the Arctic are the highest on earth. Sea ice retreat, thinning, and decreasing multiyear and increasing one-year sea ice will have consequences for the sea-ice-air exchange of that greenhouse gas. A cascade of feedback processes triggered by freezing and melting events may induce seasonally the uptake of methane from sources remote from the locations where methane is released again, either to the atmosphere or the ocean acting as final sink. We investigated sea ice cores from the interior Arctic Ocean, Spitsbergen and the southern Beaufort Sea. We found strong gradients in methane concentrations which correspond to super-saturation related to atmospheric equilibrium. We identified stable carbon isotopic signatures of sea ice-methane in the range of strongly 13C-enriched to 13C-depleted in relation to atmospheric background methane. Measured methane oxidation rates reveal methanotrophic activities, especially at the bottom of the sea ice. We used backward trajectories of sea ice cores to identify the general source regions from the ice cores in the interior Arctic, while the d18O signature of the ice provided information in respect to location on or off the shelf regime and also on specific setting on the inner shelf e.g. on water depth and potential sediment load. Our results highlight sea ice as a potential source of bacterially produced methane but also as a buffer for methane up-taken from terrestrial or fossil methane from degrading permafrost regions on the shelf.

Accurate representation of fast ice in numerical models is important for realistic simulation of numerous sea-ice and ocean variables. In order to simulate seasonal and interannual variability of fast-ice extent, the mechanisms controlling fast-ice development need to be thoroughly understood. The objective of this paper is to investigate mechanisms contributing to the advance of fast-ice edge to its winter location in the south-eastern Laptev Sea. The study is based on time series of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery for winter 2007/08 and 2009/10. A detailed examination of SAR-based ice drift showed that several grounded ice features are formed offshore prior to fast-ice expansion. These features play a key role in offshore advance of the fast-ice edge and serve as stabilizing points for surrounding pack ice as it becomes landfast. Electromagnetic ice thickness measurements suggest that the grounded ice ridges over water depths of ca. 20 m water might be responsible for interannual variations in fast-ice edge position. Contrary to previous studies, we conclude that grounding is a key mechanism of fast-ice development in the south-eastern Laptev Sea.

Ice retreat in the eastern Eurasian Arctic is a consequence of atmospheric and oceanic processes and regional feedback mechanisms acting on the ice cover, both in winter and summer. A correct representation of these processes in numerical models is important, since it will improve predictions of sea ice anomalies along the Northeast Passage and beyond. In this study, we highlight the importance of winter ice dynamics for local summer sea ice anomalies in thickness, volume and extent. By means of airborne sea ice thickness surveys made over pack ice areas in the south-eastern Laptev Sea, we show that years of offshore-directed sea ice transport have a thinning effect on the late-winter sea ice cover. To confirm the preconditioning effect of enhanced offshore advection in late winter on the summer sea ice cover, we perform a sensitivity study using a numerical model. Results verify that the preconditioning effect plays a bigger role for the regional ice extent. Furthermore, they indicate an increase in volume export from the Laptev Sea as a consequence of enhanced offshore advection, which has far-reaching consequences for the entire Arctic sea ice mass balance. Moreover we show that ice dynamics in winter not only preconditions local summer ice extent, but also accelerate fast-ice decay.

The two campaigns were carried out within the framework of the Russian-German research cooperation 'Laptev Sea System'. Measurements were made in the southeastern Laptev Sea at the end of April 2008 (campaign Transdrift (TD) XIII) and 2012 (campaign TD XX). Data obtained over pack ice zones north of the landfast ice edge were used to estimate sea ice production in flaw polynyas (Rabenstein et al. 2013, Krumpen et al. 2011) and for validation of ESA's SMOS (Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity) satellite derived ice thickness products. Flaw polynyas are open water sites between pack ice and fast ice of high net ice production sustained by winds.

Arctic sea ice extent and thickness have undergone dramatic changes in the past decades: Summer sea ice extent has declined at an annual rate of approximately 12.7 % per decade over the satellite record (1978 – present, Meier et al., 2014) and its mean thickness has decreased by 0.58 m +/- 0.07 m per decade over the period 2000 - 2012 (Lindsay et al., 2015). The thinning of sea ice is accompanied by an increase of ice drift velocity (Spreen et al., 2011), deformation (Rampal et al., 2009) and a decrease of net ice growth rates. Climate model simulations indicate that ice extent and thickness will further decline through the 21st century in response to atmospheric greenhouse gas increases (Vravus et al., 2012). However, the mass balance of Arctic sea ice is not only determined by changes in the energy balance of the coupled ice-ocean-atmosphere system but also by the increasing influence of dynamic effects. One aspect of the mass balance of Arctic sea ice are changes of ice volume export rates through Fram Strait and the decline of thick and old multi-year ice North of Ellesmere Island. Thickness surveys carried out North of Greenland and Fram Strait give insight into composition and properties of Arctic sea ice in general and how it changes over time. An extensive data set of ground-based and airborne electromagnetic ice thickness measurements were collected between 2001 and 2016 during several aircraft (PAMARCMIP, TIFAX) and Polarstern campaigns. The first aim of the TIFAX 2017 campaign is to complement earlier measurements made north of Svalbard, Greenland and in Fram Strait. Sea ice thickness information will be used to examine the connection between thickness variability, ice age and source area. Together with satellite based information on sea ice motion, data will be used to number sea ice outflow through Fram Strait in summer. These estimates shall improve the understanding of interannual variability in summer sea ice outflow and complement existing winter vo

Purpose of this document is the documentation of the area flux estimates of sea ice out of the Laptev Sea published in Itkin & Krumpen (2017), Winter sea ice export from the Laptev Sea preconditions the local summer sea ice cover and fast ice decay, The Cryosphere

Purpose of this document is the documentation of the ICETrack application developed at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. This document will give a short description of the routines and methods applied to monitor key areas and calculate sea ice trajectories using sea ice motion and concentration data from satellites and additional parameters extracted along pathways of sea ice. Some of the results of the ICETrack application are publically available for download and a technical description of the data format is given here.

Antarctic pack ice serves as habitat for microalgae which contribute to Southern Ocean primary production and serve as important food source for pelagic herbivores. Ice algal biomass is highly patchy and remains severely undersampled by classical methods such as spatially restricted ice coring surveys. Here we provide an unprecedented view of ice algal biomass distribution, mapped (as chlorophyll a) in a 100 m by 100 m area of a Weddell Sea pack ice floe, using under-ice irradiance measurements taken with an instrumented remotely operated vehicle. We identified significant correlations (p < 0.001) between algal biomass and concomitant in situ surface measurements of snow depth, ice thickness, and estimated sea ice freeboard levels using a statistical model. The model’s explanatory power (r2 = 0.30) indicates that these parameters alone may provide a first basis for spatial prediction of ice algal biomass, but parameterization of additional determinants is needed to inform more robust upscaling efforts.

Although the Arctic covers 6% of our planet’s surface and plays a key role in the Earth’s climate it remains one of the least explored ecosystems. The global change induced decline of sea ice has led to increasing anthropogenic presence in the Arctic Ocean. Exploitation of its resources is already underway, and Arctic waters are likely important future shipping lanes as indicated by already increasing numbers of fishing vessels, cruise liners and hydrocarbon prospecting in the area over the past decade. Global estimates of plastic entering the oceans currently exceed results based on empirical evidence by up to three orders of magnitude highlighting that we have not yet identified some of the major sinks of plastic in our oceans. Fragmentation into microplastics could explain part of the discrepancy. Indeed, microplastics were identified from numerous marine ecosystems globally, including the Arctic. Here, we analysed horizons of ice cores from the western and eastern Fram Strait by focal plane array based micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to assess if sea ice is a sink of microplastic. Ice cores were taken from land-locked and drifting sea ice to distinguish between local entrainment of microplastics vs long-distance transport. Mean concentrations of 2 x 106 particles m-3 in pack ice and 6 x 105 particles m-3 in land-locked ice were detected (numbers of fibers will soon be added). Eleven different polymer types were identified; polyethylene (PE) was the most abundant one. Preliminary results from four further ice cores from the central Arctic range in a similar order but the microplastics composition was very different. Calculation of drift trajectories by back-tracking of the ice floes sampled indicates multiple source areas, which explains the differences in the microplastic composition. Preliminary analysis of snow samples taken from ice floes in the Fram Strait showed numerous fibers of yet unknown but most likely anthropogenic origin indicating atm