Research areas and observation points in the Arctic Ocean targeted by the Korea Polar Research Institute (Image courtesy of Korea Polar Research Institute)
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean scientists have detected a surge of Siberian river water, organic material and sediment flowing into the East Siberian Sea, a shift they say could disrupt sea-ice formation and alter the timing and navigability of the Northern Sea Route.
The Korea Polar Research Institute said Friday that a team led by researchers Jeon Mi-hae, Jung Jin-young and Yang Eun-jin observed the phenomenon through comparative analysis of Arctic survey data collected by the icebreaker Araon.
The findings show that by 2022, Siberian river discharge and land-based material spread some 500 to 600 kilometers farther east than in 2019, reaching the East Siberian Sea. Concentrations of river water and terrestrial matter there increased by 37 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
East Siberian Sea (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/CCL)
The shift was linked to a weakening of the Beaufort Gyre, a clockwise current in the Beaufort Sea that typically prevents Siberian river discharge from spreading eastward. In 2022, strong low-pressure systems weakened the gyre, pushing surface currents and associated river flows east into the East Siberian Sea.
The researchers warned that climate change — through reduced sea ice and rapidly shifting atmospheric circulation — may be structurally altering the transport pathways of land-derived substances in the Arctic Ocean. That could have knock-on effects for marine ecosystems as well as the timing of Arctic shipping routes.
“Understanding these changes is critical to predicting and preparing for the Arctic’s future in an era of climate crisis,” said Shin Hyung-chul, director of the Korea Polar Research Institute.
The study, conducted under a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries research program on Arctic warming and ecosystem shifts, was published last month in the journal Scientific Reports.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
