Kassens, Heidemarie, Bauch, Henning , Hölemann, Jens A., Priamikov, Sergey, Thiede, Jörn and Timokhov, Leonid (2006) Die Laptewsee im Wandel: Neue Seewege möglich. In: Warnsignale aus den Polarregionen : Wissenschaftliche Fakten. , ed. by Lozán, José L., Graßl, H., Hubberten, Hans-Wolfgang, Hupfer, P., Karbe, L. and Piepenburg, Dieter. Wissenschaftliche Auswertungen, Hamburg, pp. 226-229. ISBN 3-9809688-1-X

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Abstract

The Laptev Sea - chances for new sea routes: There is a growing concern about the rapidity and extent of climate changes in recent decades in the Arctic. The changes already evident in the Arctic, such as the cyclonic shift in the distribution of Atlantic/Pacific water masses, atmospheric pressure and winds, as well as the thinning and retreat of the sea-ice, will be felt first and most dramatically around the circum-Arctic shelves - nearly 50% of the area of the Arctic Ocean. In this context the Laptev Sea and its Siberian hinterland are of particular interest because of their distance both from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. River discharge into the Laptev Sea constitutes a key source for the Arctic freshwater input generating a shallow brackish layer on top of the halicline. The shallow Laptev Sea Shelf is a major area of sea-ice production, linking the Siberian shelves of the Arctic Ocean with the Nordic seas. During the last Glacial Maximum most of these shelves were above sea level and developed thick permafrost sequences which are today sub-marine after they experienced the post-Glacial late Pleistocene and Holocene transgression. The history of the sub-marine permafrost and its modern state of decay are largely unknown.

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