MONTREAL — A unique, all-season study of the effects of global warming in the Arctic Ocean shows that climate change is reducing biodiversity and posing ‘significant challenges to the survival of some of the Arctic’s unique marine species.’

The study also shows that climate change is resulting in the increased distribution through the Arctic food chain of contaminants, such as methylmercury.

The $40-million study, which was conducted by 10 scientific teams from 27 countries, spent 2007-2008 studying open water along what are called flaw leads, or breaks in multi-year ice, where they studied how global warming is changing the entire marine ecosystem in the Arctic.

‘The Arctic Ocean is definitely changing on a whole lot of different fronts,’ said Prof. David Barber, of the University of Manitoba.

The study was released Tuesday at the Polar Year conference in Montreal. The data was gathered aboard the research icebreaker Amundsen in the Amundsen Gulf south of Banks Island in the eastern Beaufort Sea.

Scientists explained that with ice coverage and ice thickness reaching record lows over the last decade, the energy dynamics of the Arctic Ocean are changing with profound effects on weather, ocean currents and plant and animal life.

With more solar energy piercing the open waters, […]