Jan Mayen Island in Scientific Focus

About this book

Proceedings of the NATO ARW on Joint International Scientific Observation Facility on Jan Mayen Island, Oslo, Norway from 11 to 15 November 2003.

Jan Mayen is a volcanic island surrounded by the deep Greenland, Iceland and Norwegian Seas. There, atmospheric and oceanic processes unleash potential energy that forces very dynamic interactions between sea and air. This unique geophysical focal point generates climatic variability in northern Europe, and supports marine biological production that sustains the yield of large living resources. The marine populations are clearly fluctuating with variations in climate, and raises questions about effects of man-made climate change. Since the last Ice Age the sinking of Greenland Sea Deep-Water has been a substantial driving force for the Global Thermo-Haline Circulation which feeds warm Atlantic water into the Nordic Seas. Global warming may interact with the deep-water formation and force feedback mechanisms that express themselves beyond imagination. The book addresses such problems to raise an interest for doing research on the island and in its waters. The potentials for doing that increases when the island's Loran-C station closes down in 2005. The book recommends how the international scientific community may gain access to this really challenging arena for local, regional and Global research. It is a blueprint for the logistics required for science to succeed in a very remote and physically demanding place on Earth.

Contents

NATO ARW Participants: Names and Addresses; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Research Operations on Jan Mayen Island: Feasibility Scope and Legitimacy; S. Skreslet, 2.Geology of Jan Mayen Island and Surroundings: An Overview; K. Birkenmajer, 3. The Potential of the Beerenberg Glaciers for Climate Studies; Jon O.M.Hagen, 4. Meteorological Observations on Jan Mayen; A . Hov, 5. North Atlantic Influence on Lithuanian Climate: Effects of Large-Scale Atmospheric Circulation; G. Stankunavicius, 6. Northern Hemispheric Air Circulation; V. F. Romanov, 7. Natural and Anthropogenic Aerosols in the Arctic Areas; M. Vana, 8. On the Origin of Climatic Signals in the Nordic Seas; V. I. Byshev et al, 9. The Circulation of the Nordic Seas; J. Piechura, 10. Jan Mayen Island Ecology: Its Relation to the Arctic Mediterranean Ecosystem; S. Skreslet, 11. Sea Ice Export as an Indicator of Changing Arctic Ocean Ecology; I. A. Melnikov, 12. Zooplankton Habitats of the Greenland Sea: An Experimental Laboratory for Studies of Pelagic Ecology; H. Hirche, 13. Contiuous Plankton Recorder Observations: Extension of the System into the Nordic Seas; A. W. Walne and P. C. Reid, 14. Cyclic Variability of Climate and Fisheries Resources: Relevance for the Nordic Seas; L.B.Klyashtorin and A. A. Lyubushin, 15. The Marine Sublittoral Fauna of Jan Mayen Island: Zoogeography and Succession on "New" Lava Grounds; B. Gulliksen et al, 16. The Marine Fauna of Arctic Islands as Bioindicators; J. M. Weslawski, 17. Seabird Research and Monitoring on Jan Mayen; G.W. Gabrielsen and H. Strom, 18. Dispersal of Plants in Remote Arctic-Alpine Habitats: Modes and Time-Scales for Colonization; V. Kyyak, 19. Biological Premises for Management of an Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus) Population: The Demise and Future of the Hare-Footed Fox on Jan Mayen; K. Rouvinen-Watt, 20. Research Opportunities for Jan Mayen Using Stable Isotope Analyses: Long-Term Monitoring of Marine and Freshwater Foodwebs; K. A. Hobson, 21. The Jan Mayen Whaling Industry: Its Exploitation of the Greenland Right Whale and its Impact on the Marine Ecosystem; L. Hacquebord, 22. Past and Present Infrastructure of Jan Mayen as Historical Documents: The Fate of Anthropogenic Remains; S. Barr, 23. Research Operations in Remote Arctic Islands: The Model of the Polish Polar Station Hornsund in Spitsbergen; P. Glowacki, 24. Jan Mayen Island and its Waters as Potential Targets for European Arctic Research; G. Shimmield; 25. The Scope for Norwegian Commitments Related to International Research on Jan Mayen Island; O. G. Skagestad, 26. Norwegian Protection of Arctic Islands: Restrictions and Consequences; J.-P. Huberth-Hansen, 27. Jan Mayen Infrastructure: Plans for the Future; L.K. Tviberg, 28. The Logistics of Past Scientific Research on Jan Mayen Island: How to Land, Exist and Work; S. Barr, 29. Logistics for Future Jan Mayen Island Research: Results from NATO Advanced Research Workshop; S. Skreslet et al, 30. Summary of NATO ARW: Blue-Print for Jan Mayen Island Research Development; S. Skreslet, and K. Birkenmajer, Index

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