By Xinhua
Washington : Research has uncovered alarming evidence that high Arctic ponds, many of which have been permanent bodies of water for thousands of years, are completely drying out during the polar summer.
These shallow ponds, which dot the Arctic landscape, are important indicators of environment change and are especially susceptible to the effects of climate change because of their low water volume.
The latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reports that Marianne Douglas and John Smol, two leading Canadian environmental scientists, studied these unique Arctic ponds for the past 24 years, collecting detailed data such as water quality and water levels from some 40 ponds.
Collectively, this data represents the longest record of systematic limnological (the science of the properties of fresh water) monitoring from the high Arctic.
Until recent years, the ponds were permanent features of the landscape. But in early July 2006, because of warming trends in the Arctic, several of the main study ponds dried up completely, whereas others had dramatically reduced water levels.
"It was quite shocking to see some of our largest study ponds dry up by early summer," said Douglas.
The ecological ramifications of these changes are likely severe and will be felt throughout the Arctic ecosystem, says Douglas.
It would affect waterfowl habitat and breeding grounds, invertebrate population dynamics and food for insectivores and drinking water for animals, to name only a few.
"These surface water ponds are so important because they are often hotspots of biodiversity and production for micro organisms, plants and animals in this otherwise extreme terrestrial environment," said Douglas.