Thule Inuit environmental impacts on Kangeq, southwest Greenland

The Leverhulme Trust is thanked for financial support for the project “Footsteps on the Edge of Thule” (Programme Grant F/00 152/Q), directed by Kevin Edwards (University of Aberdeen), Andy Dugmore, Eva Panagiotakopulu (both University of Edinburgh), and Ian Simpson (Stirling University). We are grateful to Andy McMullen, Kirsty Collinge and Ian Simpson for assistance with fieldwork and advice. Gordon Cook is thanked for the provision of radiocarbon dates. Jamie Bowie kindly assisted with the production of diagrams relating to palynological work. The maps and section were drawn by Anastasios Panagiotakopoulos, whose help is warmly acknowledged. Last but not least we are grateful for the helpful comments by the editor and three anonymous reviewers.Peer reviewedPostprin

Bone degradation at five Arctic archaeological sites: Quantifying the importance of burial environment and bone characteristics

The degradation of archaeological bones is influenced by many variables. The bone material itself is a composite of both organic and inorganic components, and their degradation depends on processes occurring both before and after burial, and on both intrinsic bone characteristics as well as extrinsic environmental parameters. In this study we attempt to quantify the effect of some of the variables using a novel approach that includes detailed monitoring of the burial environment combined with respirometry studies of bone material from five archaeological sites in West Greenland. First, we compare the state of preservation of excavated bone material with the current burial environment including the soil pH, thawing degree days, soil porosity and soil moisture. Secondly, we investigate oxic degradation of collected bone samples through respirometry and quantify the effects of temperature and moisture on the oxidation rate of individual bones. Finally, we discuss how the oxidation rate is influenced by intrinsic bone parameters. Some of the main conclusions are: 1) There is a significant correlation between the current burial environment and the current state of preservation of the bones. 2) The oxidation rate measured by respirometry increases on average fourfold as temperature increases by 10 °C, and more than hundred-fold when dry bones are soaked in water. 3) The oxidation rate of different bones varies over two orders of magnitude due to intrinsic variables such as organic content and state of preservation of the bones. 4) The median oxidation rate of wet bone at 15 °C corresponds to a yearly loss of 3.8% of their mean organic content, while the median yearly loss for dry bones at 75% RH is 0.02%. 5) Respirometry is a promising tool for quantitative degradation studies of bone, but more studies are needed in order to obtain a better understanding of the oxidation processes involved

Chemical signature in xylem cell wall of Salix glauca L. due to Eurois occulta L. outbreaks

Insects driven defoliations are one of the major natural disturbances in high-latitude ecosystems and are expected to increase in frequency and severity due to global climate change. Defoliations cause severe reductions in biomass and carbon investments that affect the functioning and productivity of tundra ecosystems. Recent studies have quantified the decrease in cell-wall thickness (CWT) during the outbreak and the unexpected increase in primary production the following years. Here we combine dendro-anatomical analysis with chemical imaging to investigate how the outbreaks affect carbon assimilation and vegetation productivity. Samples of Salix glauca L. featuring outbreak events of the moth Eurois occulta L. were collected at Iffiarterfik, Western Greenland. Samples were cross-dated and two pointer years in 2003 and 2010 (outbreaks) identified. These two annual rings showed a clear reduction in carbon investment such as reduction in ring-width, CWT but also colour intensity was affected, suggesting an altered biopolymer mark-up. For each outbreak event, seven growth rings were analysed (outbreak \ub13years). The wider rings formed the two following years highlighted a growth release after the outbreaks. The chemical composition of the xylem cell wall material was analysed using confocal Raman imaging on cross sections of fibres, vessels, and parenchyma cells to possibly identify the chemical signatures related to insect outbreaks. Possible differences in chemical composition between cell types and between growth years were explored using chemical imaging based on cluster analysis of integrated Raman band intensities as well as by more advanced chemometric approaches

Influences of summer warming and nutrient availability on Salix glauca L. growth in Greenland along an ice to sea gradient

The combined effects of climate change and nutrient availability on Arctic vegetation growth are poorly understood. Archaeological sites in the Arctic could represent unique nutrient hotspots for studying the long-term effect of nutrient enrichment. In this study, we analysed a time-series of ring widths of Salix glauca L. collected at nine archaeological sites and in their natural surroundings along a climate gradient in the Nuuk fjord region, Southwest Greenland, stretching from the edge of the Greenlandic Ice Sheet in the east to the open sea in the west. We assessed the temperature-growth relationship for the last four decades distinguishing between soils with past anthropogenic nutrient enrichment (PANE) and without (controls). Along the East-West gradient, the inner fjord sites showed a stronger temperature signal compared to the outermost ones. Individuals growing in PANE soils had wider ring widths than individuals growing in the control soils and a stronger climate-growth relation, especially in the inner fjord sites. Thereby, the individuals growing on the archaeological sites seem to have benefited more from the climate warming in recent decades. Our results suggest that higher nutrient availability due to past human activities plays a role in Arctic vegetation growth and should be considered when assessing both the future impact of plants on archaeological sites and the general greening in landscapes with contrasting nutrient availability

Evidences of cyclic Eurois occulta outbreaks in West Greenland based on shrub-ring anatomy and remote sensing

Insect outbreaks are among the major disturbances in high latitude ecosystems. Such outbreaks cause severe canopy defoliation and reduce the vegetation biomass and C investments, with potential consequences for species composition, functioning and productivity of tundra ecosystems. Outbreaks are expected to increase in severity and frequency in the future due to climate changes. Despite their importance, up to now only few studies tried a retrospective reconstruction of past outbreaks, and none has investigated their effect on shrub anatomical structure, e.g., cell wall thickness. In this research, we use a dendro-anatomical approach combined with remotely sensed data to assess and reconstruct past outbreaks of the moth Eurois occulta in West Greenland. We additionally quantify changes in annual growth and C investment for the host species Salix glauca L. We analysed Salix glauca L. samples collected along the Nuuk fjord (7 sites, 136 samples) to identify outbreak events and quantify inter-annual variation in conduit diameters and wall thickness. Time series of Landsat images were used to detect NDVI deviations caused by reductions in the photosynthetic activity in the area. Wood samples were successfully crossdated and 7 chronologies were established spanning more than 50 years. We clearly identified three distinctive pointer years of reduced annual growth (1997, 2003 and 2010), where wood-anatomical traits showed either a significant reduction in cell-wall thickness or no variation in vessel size. This implies that under defoliations Salix glauca L. undergoes an adjustment in the xylem traits aimed to maintain the hydraulic structure but with a detrimental effect on fiber cell walls. This multi-proxy approach allowed us to distinguish between abiotic (climate) and biotic (the moth) drivers of narrow ring formation