Our monitoring network spans the Arctic, providing key data on coastal ecosystems. The monitoring sites enable us to observe ecological changes in real time, facilitating a deeper understanding of the impacts of environmental stressors and aiding in the development of adaptive management and mitigation strategies
Coupled Coastal Temperature and Biodiversity Observation Network (CCTBON)
CCTBON collects high-resolution data on coastal temperatures and the abundance of conspicuous key coastal macro-species from hundreds of rocky shores across the Atlantic Ocean. Employing standardized, simplified, and technology-aided biodiversity surveying procedures together with state-of-the-art autonomous temperature loggers (EnvLoggers), the ongoing monitoring effort is designed to last for decades. Field sites encompass virtually all coastal climates present in the Atlantic, from tropical to polar. Presently, monitoring within or near the Arctic includes Svalbard, East Greenland, Jan Mayen, Iceland, northern Norway, and the fjords around Nuuk, Greenland. More sites are expected to be added over the coming years, particularly along the Canadian and Greenlandic coastlines. Please visit www.coastalwarming.com/cctbon for more information.
Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystem (BLE) LTER
The Beaufort Sea coast of Northern Alaska is characterized by a series of coastal shallow-water lagoon systems that are partially enclosed by barrier islands. The BLE monitoring program covers the Elson Lagoon (western Beaufort Sea: 71°18’35″N 156°04’03″W), the Simpson Lagoon/Stefansson Sound (central Beaufort Sea: 70°37’41″N 147°39’17″W), the Kaktovik and Jago Lagoon (eastern Beaufort Sea: 70°07’48″N 143°25’52″W). These lagoons undergo strong seasonal changes: about 6–7 months of ice cover; a distinct break-up season during which rivers start to flow but the connection to the marine environment is still restricted; and an open water season where the lagoon system is connected to both the terrestrial and the marine environment. During winter, the shallow areas of the lagoon systems are frozen down to the sediment while a narrow, high salinity water layer remains in the deeper parts of the lagoons. Despite this seasonal disturbance, lagoon fauna can quickly recolonize frozen areas so that the lagoons can serve as a rich feeding ground for a variety of diadromous and marine fish species as well as migrating bird populations. Please visit https://ble.lternet.edu/ for more information.
Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring
Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring (GEM) is an integrated monitoring and long-term research programme on ecosystems and climate change effects across three sites in Greenland. Since 1995 the programme has established a coherent and integrated understanding of the functioning of ecosystems in a highly variable climate, which is based upon a comprehensive, long-term inter-disciplinary data collection carried out by Danish and Greenlandic research institutions. The programme currently covers data from monitoring programmes three sites: Zackenberg (East Greenland; 1995-), Kobbefjord at Nuuk ((West Greenland; 2007-) and Disko Island (West Greenlnad; 2017-). The well over 1000 parameters are freely available via the GEM Database. Please visit https://g-e-m.dk/ for more information and data.
Gulf Watch Alaska
Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA) is a long-term ecosystem monitoring program in the Northern Gulf of Alaska, which aims to provide ecosystem-level scientific data and products to inform management agencies and the public of changes in the environment and their ecological impacts. The “nearshore” component of GWA provides annual monitoring of composition and abundance of species in rocky intertidal, soft-sediment coastal ecosystems, as well as coastal upper trophic level predators (sea otters, shorebirds). GWA nearshore surveys take place in four regions of the Northern Gulf of Alaska: Western Prince William Sound (WPWS; 60°20’00″N 147°33’28″W), Kenai Fjords National Park (KEFJ; 59°42’21″N 148°57’05″W), Kachemak Bay (KBAY; 59°44’16″N 148°55’26″W), and Katmai National Park and Preserve (KATM; 58°57’32″N 152°10’01″W). Please visit https://gulfwatchalaska.org for more information.
Nova Scotia rocky shore
At the Sea Spray Shore on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and at Tor Bay Provincial Park, on the open Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, intertidal temperatures, and species richness and abundance across horizontal and vertical gradients are being continuously monitored. Please visit https://www.marineecologylab.com/ for more information.
Kandalaksha Bay muddy intertidal
The Kandalaksha Bay long-term monitoring program has been running since 1987 in the White Sea. Surveys takes place at Seldyanaya Bight (66°20’18″N 33°37’16″E), a 400 m long narrow bay on the northern coast of the Chupa Inlet, and at Medvezhya Bight (66°21’03″N 33°35’54″E ), a small bay that opens to the northeast and is sheltered by a small peninsula to the north and from the northeast by a few small islands. Two streams flow into the Medvezhya bight. The tidal flat at Seldyanaya Bight is covered with a thick layer of semi-liquid silt, and the shores of Medvezhya Bight are largely mixed rocky-sandy ground. The tidal flat deposits are sand with some mud and there is no rock bar in the bights. Seawater surface temperature is about 14–16 ºC in summer, and decreases to –0.9 ºС in winter, and the whole ice-period lasts 3–7 months. The average tidal amplitude about 1.5 m at both sites.
