Exotic pollen to the Canadian High Arctic: possible sources, transport mechanisms and implications of climate change
Abstract
Airborne pollen was monitored hourly at Eureka in the Canadian High Arctic during the spring and summer 2009 and 2010 with the goal of documenting exotic pollen (i.e. coming from outside the Arctic) and providing background for paleoclimatic studies. The overall pollen counts are low, and a large proportion is exotic pollen recorded in a few episodes. Most exotic pollen consists of tamarack (Larix laricina), American elm (Ulmus americana) American beech (Fagus grandifolia), pine and spruce. We examined a few of these episodes when exotic was collected and used the Lagrangian stochastic atmospheric dispersion model MLDP in backward mode to identify possible sources for the pollen emission. Here, we are presenting a few simulation results to show that pollen from tamarack (Larix laricina) collected at Eureka possibly came from the Canadian Prairie provinces. The travel time for pollen from the mid-latitude to the High Arctic takes between 4 and 8 days, and the transport mechanisms are complex. We do note that the highest concentrations of L. laricina is associated with an exceptionally warm episode at Eureka, suggesting climate change could affect the composition of biogenic aerosols in the Arctic.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMGH12A..04L
- Keywords:
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- 0230 Impacts of climate change: human health;
- GEOHEALTHDE: 0231 Impacts of climate change: agricultural health;
- GEOHEALTHDE: 0232 Impacts of climate change: ecosystem health;
- GEOHEALTHDE: 0240 Public health;
- GEOHEALTH