Arctic ponds that have existed for thousands of years are now disappearing because of climate change, according to a study by John Smol from Queen's University in Ontario, Canada and Marianne Douglas from the University of Alberta, Canada.
The authors sampled a group of approximately 40 typical Arctic ponds in Canada every few years from 1983 to 2006 — the longest ever study of this kind. The shallow but ecologically diverse ponds are shrinking and becoming saltier because warmer temperatures are causing water to evaporate. In several cases they found that ponds previously tens of metres wide had vanished by 2006. More disturbingly, the surrounding wetlands, previously waterlogged and mossy, had become dry enough to ignite with a lighter. Sensors left by the researchers showed that similar drying occurred in 2005.
Evidence that these ponds have existed for thousands of years in a relatively stable state comes from paleoecology — the study of organisms preserved in layers of pond sediment. Worryingly, the authors think that the recent changes are probably widespread and might turn the region from a carbon sink to a carbon source.
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Mantoura, S. Arctic ponds disappear. Nature Clim Change 1, 33 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/climate.2007.34
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/climate.2007.34
