Arctic Coastal Observations, Research, and Networking (ACORN) Series

ACORN logo
Somewhat acorn shaped ice wedge. Credit: B.M. Jones
Credit: Ben Jones

The ACORN series is a monthly online seminar series by PerCS-Net members on topics related to Arctic coastal research. Become a PerCS-Net member to receive links to join the online conversation. Talks are scheduled for the 4th Wednesday of the month (Aug. to May) at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Past Talks

24 May 2023 | Watch Passcode: @D#Sz=?6 (Tip: if pasting the passcode doesn’t work, try typing it in)

Invasive Vaucheria aff. compacta (Xanthophyceae) and its distribution over a high Arctic tidal flat in Svalbard – How microorganisms affect large-scale changes within intertidal systems and protect sea shore ecosystems against erosion

Josef Elster | Centre for Polar Ecology, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic 

ABSTRACT (click on image below to enlarge for reading)

Abstract for May 2023 ACORN talk by Josef Elster

26 April 2023 | Watch passcode: C5IB?%4N (Tip: if pasting the passcode doesn’t work, try typing it in)

The impact of wind on groundwater dynamics along a microtidal Arctic lagoon

Julia Guimond | Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA 

ABSTRACT (click on image below to enlarge for reading):

Julia Guimond - abstract for 26 April 2023 ACORN talk

29 March 2023 | Watch passcode: A^B@7×1+ (Tip: if pasting the passcode doesn’t work, try typing it in)

How could coastal erosion change the Arctic Ocean’s CO2 uptake from the atmosphere? — an Earth system modelling approach

David Nielsen, Postdoc | Ocean Biogeochemistry Group, Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany

ABSTRACT: Click on image below to enlarge for reading:

David Nielson - abstract for 29 March 2023 ACORN talk

22 February 2023 | Watch (passcode: AVt96%zr)

Barrier islands influence the assimilation of terrestrial energy in nearshore fishes 

Ashley Stanek, Fish and Aquatic Ecology Program, USGS Alaska Science Center

ABSTRACT: Click on image below to enlarge for reading.

Ashley Stanek - barrier islands talk - ACORN

25 January 2023 | Watch 

Glacial isostatic adjustment speeds past and future Arctic subsea permafrost thaw 

Roger Creel, Frederieke Miesner,Stiig Wilkenskjeld, Jacqueline Austermann, Pier Paul Overduin

ABSTRACT: Subsea permafrost forms when sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic.  Although year-round sea ice has until recently hindered measurement of subsea permafrost distribution, best estimates indicate that over 2.5 million km2 of permafrost exists under the Arctic continental shelf, with some areas of the Laptev and Kara seas underlain by permafrost that is more than 700 meters thick.  Understanding subsea permafrost is important because it stores organic carbon and methane, which, if thawed, may reach the atmosphere as greenhouse gasses. Sea-level variations control subsea permafrost distribution. Yet to date, no subsea permafrost model has included local sea level that differs from the global mean due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Here we present the first model of pan-Arctic subsea permafrost over the last 400,000 years to incorporate GIA.  This model allows us to estimate present-day subsea permafrost extent and explore the effect that relative sea level has on permafrost evolution.  Additionally, we extend the subsea permafrost simulation 1000 years into the future for the emissions scenarios outlined in the International Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report.  Our future projections enable us to map the vulnerability of Arctic subsea permafrost to climate warming.

Roger Creel - subsea permafrost talk - ACORN