Campbell
Robert G.
Campbell
Robert G.
No Thumbnail Available
12 results
Search Results
Now showing
1 - 12 of 12
-
ArticleModeling the impact of declining sea ice on the Arctic marine planktonic ecosystem(American Geophysical Union, 2010-10-08) Zhang, Jinlun ; Spitz, Yvette H. ; Steele, Michael ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Berline, Leo ; Matrai, PatriciaWe have developed a coupled 3-D pan-Arctic biology/sea ice/ocean model to investigate the impact of declining Arctic sea ice on the marine planktonic ecosystem over 1988–2007. The biophysical model results agree with satellite observations of a generally downward trend in summer sea ice extent during 1988–2007, resulting in an increase in the simulated photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) at the ocean surface and marine primary productivity (PP) in the upper 100 m over open water areas of the Arctic Ocean. The simulated Arctic sea ice thickness has decreased steadily during 1988–2007, leading to an increase in PAR and PP in sea ice-covered areas. The simulated total PAR in all areas of the Arctic Ocean has increased by 43%, from 146 TW in 1988 to 209 TW in 2007; the corresponding total PP has increased by 50%, from 456 Tg C yr−1 in 1988 to 682 Tg C yr−1 in 2007. The simulated PAR and PP increases mainly occur in the seasonally and permanently ice-covered Arctic Ocean. In addition to increasing PAR, the decline in sea ice tends to increase the nutrient availability in the euphotic zone by enhancing air-sea momentum transfer, leading to strengthened upwelling and mixing in the water column and therefore increased nutrient input into the upper ocean layers from below. The increasing nutrient availability also contributes to the increase in the simulated PP, even though significant surface nutrient drawdown in summer is simulated. In conjunction with increasing surface absorption of solar radiation and rising surface air temperature, the increasing surface water temperature in the Arctic Ocean peripheral seas further contributes to the increase in PP. As PP has increased, so has the simulated biomass of phytoplankton and zooplankton.
-
ArticleThe great 2012 Arctic Ocean summer cyclone enhanced biological productivity on the shelves(John Wiley & Sons, 2014-01-16) Zhang, Jinlun ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Hill, Victoria ; Spitz, Yvette H. ; Steele, MichaelA coupled biophysical model is used to examine the impact of the great Arctic cyclone of early August 2012 on the marine planktonic ecosystem in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean (PSA). Model results indicate that the cyclone influences the marine planktonic ecosystem by enhancing productivity on the shelves of the Chukchi, East Siberian, and Laptev seas during the storm. Although the cyclone's passage in the PSA lasted only a few days, the simulated biological effects on the shelves last 1 month or longer. At some locations on the shelves, primary productivity (PP) increases by up to 90% and phytoplankton biomass by up to 40% in the wake of the cyclone. The increase in zooplankton biomass is up to 18% on 31 August and remains 10% on 15 September, more than 1 month after the storm. In the central PSA, however, model simulations indicate a decrease in PP and plankton biomass. The biological gain on the shelves and loss in the central PSA are linked to two factors. (1) The cyclone enhances mixing in the upper ocean, which increases nutrient availability in the surface waters of the shelves; enhanced mixing in the central PSA does not increase productivity because nutrients there are mostly depleted through summer draw down by the time of the cyclone's passage. (2) The cyclone also induces divergence, resulting from the cyclone's low-pressure system that drives cyclonic sea ice and upper ocean circulation, which transports more plankton biomass onto the shelves from the central PSA. The simulated biological gain on the shelves is greater than the loss in the central PSA, and therefore, the production on average over the entire PSA is increased by the cyclone. Because the gain on the shelves is offset by the loss in the central PSA, the average increase over the entire PSA is moderate and lasts only about 10 days. The generally positive impact of cyclones on the marine ecosystem in the Arctic, particularly on the shelves, is likely to grow with increasing summer cyclone activity if the Arctic continues to warm and the ice cover continues to shrink.
-
ArticleThe influence of sea ice and snow cover and nutrient availability on the formation of massive under-ice phytoplankton blooms in the Chukchi Sea(Elsevier, 2015-03-09) Zhang, Jinlun ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Spitz, Yvette H. ; Steele, Michael ; Hill, VictoriaA coupled biophysical model is used to examine the impact of changes in sea ice and snow cover and nutrient availability on the formation of massive under-ice phytoplankton blooms (MUPBs) in the Chukchi Sea of the Arctic Ocean over the period 1988–2013. The model is able to reproduce the basic features of the ICESCAPE (Impacts of Climate on EcoSystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment) observed MUPB during July 2011. The simulated MUPBs occur every year during 1988–2013, mainly in between mid-June and mid-July. While the simulated under-ice blooms of moderate magnitude are widespread in the Chukchi Sea, MUPBs are less so. On average, the area fraction of MUPBs in the ice-covered areas of the Chukchi Sea during June and July is about 8%, which has been increasing at a rate of 2% yr–1 over 1988–2013. The simulated increase in the area fraction as well as primary productivity and chlorophyll a biomass is linked to an increase in light availability, in response to a decrease in sea ice and snow cover, and an increase in nutrient availability in the upper 100 m of the ocean, in conjunction with an intensification of ocean circulation. Simulated MUPBs are temporally sporadic and spatially patchy because of strong spatiotemporal variations of light and nutrient availability. However, as observed during ICESCAPE, there is a high likelihood that MUPBs may form at the shelf break, where the model simulates enhanced nutrient concentration that is seldom depleted between mid-June and mid-July because of generally robust shelf-break upwelling and other dynamic ocean processes. The occurrence of MUPBs at the shelf break is more frequent in the past decade than in the earlier period because of elevated light availability there. It may be even more frequent in the future if the sea ice and snow cover continues to decline such that light is more available at the shelf break to further boost the formation of MUPBs there.
-
ArticleSpring plankton dynamics in the Eastern Bering Sea, 1971–2050 : mechanisms of interannual variability diagnosed with a numerical model(John Wiley & Sons, 2016-02-20) Banas, Neil S. ; Zhang, Jinlun ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Sambrotto, Raymond N. ; Lomas, Michael W. ; Sherr, Evelyn B. ; Sherr, Barry F. ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Stoecker, Diane K. ; Lessard, Evelyn J.A new planktonic ecosystem model was constructed for the Eastern Bering Sea based on observations from the 2007–2010 BEST/BSIERP (Bering Ecosystem Study/Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program) field program. When run with forcing from a data-assimilative ice-ocean hindcast of 1971–2012, the model performs well against observations of spring bloom time evolution (phytoplankton and microzooplankton biomass, growth and grazing rates, and ratios among new, regenerated, and export production). On the southern middle shelf (57°N, station M2), the model replicates the generally inverse relationship between ice-retreat timing and spring bloom timing known from observations, and the simpler direct relationship between the two that has been observed on the northern middle shelf (62°N, station M8). The relationship between simulated mean primary production and mean temperature in spring (15 February to 15 July) is generally positive, although this was found to be an indirect relationship which does not continue to apply across a future projection of temperature and ice cover in the 2040s. At M2, the leading direct controls on total spring primary production are found to be advective and turbulent nutrient supply, suggesting that mesoscale, wind-driven processes—advective transport and storminess—may be crucial to long-term trends in spring primary production in the southeastern Bering Sea, with temperature and ice cover playing only indirect roles. Sensitivity experiments suggest that direct dependence of planktonic growth and metabolic rates on temperature is less significant overall than the other drivers correlated with temperature described above.
-
ArticleBiophysical consequences of a relaxing Beaufort Gyre(American Geophysical Union, 2019-12-19) Zhang, Jinlun ; Spitz, Yvette H. ; Steele, Michael ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Schweiger, AxelA biophysical model shows that Beaufort Gyre (BG) intensification in 2004–2016 is followed by relaxation in 2017–2018, based on a BG variability index. BG intensification leads to enhanced downwelling in the central Canada Basin (CCB) and upwelling along the coast. In the CCB, enhanced downwelling reduces nutrients, thus lowering primary productivity (PP) and plankton biomass. Enhanced upwelling along the coast and in parts of the Chukchi shelf/slope increases nutrients, leading to elevated PP/biomass in the Pacific Arctic Ocean (PAO) outside of the CCB. The overall PAO PP/biomass is dominated by the shelf/slope response and thus increases during BG intensification. As the BG relaxes in 2017–2018, these processes largely reverse, with increasing PP/biomass in the CCB and decreasing PP/biomass in most of the shelf/slope regions. Because the shelf/slope regions are much more productive than the CCB, BG relaxation has the tendency to reduce the overall production in the PAO.
-
ArticleClimate variability, oceanography, bowhead whale distribution, and Iñupiat subsistence whaling near Barrow, Alaska(Arctic Institute of North America, 2010-06) Ashjian, Carin J. ; Braund, Stephen R. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; George, John C. ; Kruse, Jack ; Maslowski, Wieslaw ; Moore, Sue E. ; Nicolson, Craig R. ; Okkonen, Stephen R. ; Sherr, Barry F. ; Sherr, Evelyn B. ; Spitz, Yvette H.The annual migration of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) past Barrow, Alaska, has provided subsistence hunting to Iñupiat for centuries. Bowheads recurrently feed on aggregations of zooplankton prey near Barrow in autumn. The mechanisms that form these aggregations, and the associations between whales and oceanography, were investigated using field sampling, retrospective analysis, and traditional knowledge interviews. Oceanographic and aerial surveys were conducted near Barrow during August and September in 2005 and 2006. Multiple water masses were observed, and close coupling between water mass type and biological characteristics was noted. Short-term variability in hydrography was associated with changes in wind speed and direction that profoundly affected plankton taxonomic composition. Aggregations of ca. 50–100 bowhead whales were observed in early September of both years at locations consistent with traditional knowledge. Retrospective analyses of records for 1984–2004 also showed that annual aggregations of whales near Barrow were associated with wind speed and direction. Euphausiids and copepods appear to be upwelled onto the Beaufort Sea shelf during Eor SEwinds. A favorable feeding environment is produced when these plankton are retained and concentrated on the shelf by the prevailing westward Beaufort Sea shelf currents that converge with the Alaska Coastal Current flowing to the northeast along the eastern edge of Barrow Canyon.
-
PreprintBiogeographic responses of the copepod Calanus glacialis to a changing Arctic marine environment( 2017-08-24) Feng, Zhixuan ; Ji, Rubao ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Zhang, JinlunDramatic changes have occurred in the Arctic Ocean over the past few decades, especially in terms of sea ice loss and ocean warming. Those environmental changes may modify the planktonic ecosystem with changes from lower to upper trophic levels. This study aimed to understand how the biogeographic distribution of a crucial endemic copepod species, Calanus glacialis, may respond to both abiotic (ocean temperature) and biotic (phytoplankton prey) drivers. A copepod individual-based model coupled to an ice-ocean-biogeochemical model was utilized to simulate temperature- and food-dependent life cycle development of C. glacialis annually from 1980 to 2014. Over the 35-year study period, the northern boundaries of modeled diapausing C. glacialis expanded poleward and the annual success rates of C. glacialis individuals attaining diapause in a circumpolar transition zone increased substantially. Those patterns could be explained by a lengthening growth season (during which time food is ample) and shortening critical development time (the period from the first feeding stage N3 to the diapausing stage C4). The biogeographic changes were further linked to large scale oceanic processes, particularly diminishing sea ice cover, upper ocean warming, and increasing and prolonging food availability, which could have potential consequences to the entire Arctic shelf/slope marine ecosystems.
-
ArticleIntrusion of warm Bering/Chukchi waters onto the shelf in the western Beaufort Sea(American Geophysical Union, 2009-06-27) Okkonen, Stephen R. ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Maslowski, Wieslaw ; Clement-Kinney, Jaclyn L. ; Potter, RachelWind-driven changes in the path of warm Bering/Chukchi waters carried by the Alaska Coastal Current (ACC) through Barrow Canyon during late summer are described from high-resolution hydrography, acoustic Doppler current profiler–measured currents, and satellite-measured sea surface temperature imagery acquired from mid-August to mid-September 2005–2007 near Barrow, Alaska. Numerical simulations are used to provide a multidecadal context for these observational data. Four generalized wind regimes and associated circulation states are identified. When winds are from the east or east-southeast, the ACC jet tends to be relatively strong and flows adjacent to the shelf break along the southern flank of Barrow Canyon. These easterly winds drive inner shelf currents northwestward along the Alaskan Beaufort coast where they oppose significant eastward intrusions of warm water from Barrow Canyon onto the shelf. Because these easterly winds promote sea level set down over the Beaufort shelf and upwelling along the Beaufort slope, the ACC jet necessarily becomes weaker, broader, and displaced seaward from the Beaufort shelf break upon exiting Barrow Canyon. Winds from the northeast promote separation of the ACC from the southern flank of Barrow Canyon and establish an up-canyon current along the southern flank that is fed in part by waters from the western Beaufort shelf. When winds are weak or from the southwest, warm Bering/Chukchi waters from Barrow Canyon intrude onto the western Beaufort shelf.
-
ArticleLingering Chukchi Sea sea ice and Chukchi Sea mean winds influence population age structure of euphausiids (krill) found in the bowhead whale feeding hotspot near Pt. Barrow, Alaska(Public Library of Science, 2021-07-12) Ashjian, Carin J. ; Okkonen, Stephen R. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Alatalo, PhilipInterannual variability in euphausiid (krill) abundance and population structure and associations of those measures with environmental drivers were investigated in an 11-year study conducted in late August–early September 2005–2015 in offshelf waters (bottom depth > 40 m) in Barrow Canyon and the Beaufort Sea just downstream of Distributed Biological Observatory site 5 (DBO5) near Pt. Barrow, Alaska. Statistically-significant positive correlations were observed among krill population structure (proportion of juveniles and adults), the volume of Late Season Melt Water (LMW), and late-spring Chukchi Sea sea ice extent. High proportions of juvenile and adult krill were seen in years with larger volumes of LMW and greater spring sea ice extents (2006, 2009, 2012–2014) while the converse, high proportions of furcilia, were seen in years with smaller volumes of LMW and lower spring sea ice extent (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2015). These different life stage, sea ice and water mass regimes represent integrated advective responses to mean fall and/or spring Chukchi Sea winds, driven by prevailing atmospheric pressure distributions in the two sets of years. In years with high proportions of juveniles and adults, late-spring and preceding-fall winds were weak and variable while in years with high proportions of furcilia, late-spring and preceding-fall winds were strong, easterly and consistent. The interaction of krill life history with yearly differences in the northward transports of krill and water masses along with sea ice retreat determines the population structure of late-summer krill populations in the DBO5 region near Pt. Barrow. Years with higher proportions of mature krill may provide larger prey to the Pt. Barrow area bowhead whale prey hotspot. The characteristics of prey near Pt. Barrow is dependent on krill abundance and size, large-scale environmental forcing, and interannual variability in recruitment success of krill in the Bering Sea.
-
ArticleInter-species comparison of the copepodite stage morphology, vertical distribution, and seasonal population structure of five sympatric mesopelagic aetideid copepods in the western Arctic Ocean(Frontiers Media, 2022-08-19) Koguchi, Yunosuke ; Tokuhiro, Koki ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Yamaguchi, AtsushiAetideidae is a calanoid copepod family dominant in the mesopelagic layer of the Arctic Ocean for which little ecological information is available because species identification, especially of early copepodite stages, is difficult. In this study, we developed a species identification flow for the whole copepodite stages of five sympatric aetideid copepods (Chiridius obtusifrons, Gaetanus tenuispinus, G. brevispinus, Aetideopsis multiserrata, and A. rostrata). Vertical distributions and seasonal population structures of these species were evaluated using a year-round sample time-series collected at the drifting ice station (SHEBA) in the western Arctic Ocean. Combinations of morphological characteristics (prosome length, cephalosome, and prosome widths) were used to identify the early copepodite stages to species. Aetideopsis rostrata was distributed in deep waters (1,032–1,065 m) throughout the year. The other species all were found at 600–700 m during the midnight sun. However, during the polar night, the vertical distributions of each species were distinct, resulting from ascent, descent, or depth maintenance, indicating seasonal vertical migration which may function to reduce inter-specific competition during the polar night when food resources are scarce. Reproduction timing varied among four aetideid copepods: C.obtusifrons and G. tenuispinus showed polar night ascent and reproduction at the end of the polar night, whereas G. brevispinus and A. multiserrata showed descent or depth maintenance during the polar night and reproduction at the beginning of the polar night. There was not sufficient data to examine reproduction timing of A. rostrata. Common for all aetideid species, δ15N values of the adult females indicate more carnivorous feeding modes during the polar night than those in the midnight sun. Such vertical distribution and timing of reproduction variation among these five aetideid copepods may function to reduce species competition in the mesopelagic layer of the Arctic Ocean.
-
ArticleEuphausiid transport in the Western Arctic Ocean(Inter-Research, 2008-05-22) Berline, Leo ; Spitz, Yvette H. ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Maslowski, Wieslaw ; Moore, Sue E.Euphausiids are commonly found in the stomachs of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus hunted near Barrow, Alaska; however, no evidence exists of a self-sustaining population in this region. To explain euphausiid presence near Barrow, their transport from the northern Bering Sea was investigated through particle tracking experiments using velocity fields from an ocean general circulation model in 4 contrasted circulation scenarios (1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003). Euphausiids were released during their spawning season (April-June) in the bottom and surface layers in the northern Bering Sea, their endemic region, and tracked through the Chukchi-Beaufort Sea. Results show that both Anadyr Gulf and Shpanberg Strait are potential regions of origin for euphausiids. Topographically steered bottom particles have 4 to 5 times higher probability of reaching Barrow than surface particles (ca. 95% versus 20% of particles). As euphausiids are often found near the bottom on the northern Bering shelf, this suggests a very high probability of euphausiids reaching Barrow, making this location a privileged area for whale feeding. The main pathways to Barrow across the Chukchi Sea shelf are Central Valley (CV) and Herald Valley (HV). The transit to Barrow takes 4 to 20 mo. Arrivals at Barrow have 2 peaks at ca. 200 d (fall, CV particles) and 395 d after release (spring, mixed CV and HV) on average, because of the seasonal cycle of the Chukchi Sea currents. Elevated euphausiid abundance in the fall at Barrow is favored by a high Bering Strait northward transport and by southerly winds, driving organisms through CV rather than through the HV pathway.
-
ArticleEarly ice retreat and ocean warming may induce copepod biogeographic boundary shifts in the Arctic Ocean(John Wiley & Sons, 2016-08-20) Feng, Zhixuan ; Ji, Rubao ; Campbell, Robert G. ; Ashjian, Carin J. ; Zhang, JinlunEarly ice retreat and ocean warming are changing various facets of the Arctic marine ecosystem, including the biogeographic distribution of marine organisms. Here an endemic copepod species, Calanus glacialis, was used as a model organism, to understand how and why Arctic marine environmental changes may induce biogeographic boundary shifts. A copepod individual-based model was coupled to an ice-ocean-ecosystem model to simulate temperature- and food-dependent copepod life history development. Numerical experiments were conducted for two contrasting years: a relatively cold and normal sea ice year (2001) and a well-known warm year with early ice retreat (2007). Model results agreed with commonly known biogeographic distributions of C. glacialis, which is a shelf/slope species and cannot colonize the vast majority of the central Arctic basins. Individuals along the northern boundaries of this species' distribution were most susceptible to reproduction timing and early food availability (released sea ice algae). In the Beaufort, Chukchi, East Siberian, and Laptev Seas where severe ocean warming and loss of sea ice occurred in summer 2007, relatively early ice retreat, elevated ocean temperature (about 1–2°C higher than 2001), increased phytoplankton food, and prolonged growth season created favorable conditions for C. glacialis development and caused a remarkable poleward expansion of its distribution. From a pan-Arctic perspective, despite the great heterogeneity in the temperature and food regimes, common biogeographic zones were identified from model simulations, thus allowing a better characterization of habitats and prediction of potential future biogeographic boundary shifts.