Quantifying the vulnerability of Arctic water supply lakes through paleolimnological assessment

The case of Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12266403
AutoresPaige Cincio (0000-0003-1722-0563, University of Ottawa), Andrew S Medeiros (0000-0002-7743-2560, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Canada, autor correspondente), Sonia Wesche (0000-0002-8300-954X, University of Ottawa), Konrad Gajewski (0000-0003-4677-7432, University of Ottawa)
Ano2021
Volume31
Fascículo7
Páginas1175-1185
Data de publicação2021-03-24
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Holocene (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09596836211003234
OpenAlexW3136551812
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas76

Anthropogenic stressors to freshwater environments have perpetuated water quality and quantity challenges for communities across Arctic Canada, making drinking water resources a primary concern for northern peoples. To understand the ecological trajectory of lakes used as freshwater supply, we conducted a paleolimnological assessment on two supplemental sources in Igloolik, Nunavut, Arctic Canada. A stratigraphic examination of biological indicators (Insecta: Diptera: Chironomidae) allowed for paleotemperature reconstructions with decadal and centennial resolution over the past 2000 years. Between 200 and 1900 CE, the sub-fossil chironomid community was comprised of cold-water taxa, such as Abiskomyia, Micropsectra radialis-type, and Paracladius. Reconstructed temperatures were consistent with known climate anomalies during this period. A rapid shift in the composition of the chironomid assemblages to those with higher temperature optima ( Chironomus anthracinus-type, Dicrotendipes, and Tanytarsus lugens-type) in the late 20th century was observed in both systems. Our results demonstrate that these ecosystems are undergoing marked transformations to warmer, more nutrient-rich environments, and suggest that water sustainability pressures will likely continue in tandem with ongoing climate change. To contextualize the influence of recent warming and elucidate the status of freshwater resources over the longer term, paleolimnological methods can be usefully applied as components of vulnerability assessments

Arctic · Arctic ecology · Biology · Climate change · Diatom · Ecosystem · Freshwater ecosystem · Geography · Paleolimnology · Physical geography · Climate change and permafrost · Environmental Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Ecology · Geology · Oceanography