![]() ![]() And it's more than all other regions for the Canadian Arctic."īut scientists still don't know why life in the Queen Maud Gulf is configured in this way. "If we compare data that we collected for the two last years, we found more than 300 different taxa, only in the Kitikmeot region. "For benthic biodiversity, it could be considered as a hot spot in the Arctic," she said. These seafloor organisms - so-called benthic life - are setting a record in this area, Grant said. When the core was hauled back onto the ship, the surface of the sample - presenting an intact slice of the seafloor about 2 square feet in size - teemed with colorful Arctic starfish, worms and small shrimp. In one of their many scientific assays in the gulf aboard the Amundsen, scientists used a box core - a large, heavy metal device that slams into the ocean floor and scoops up a thick cube of mud - to gather data. That's what seems to foster an unusual ecosystem that doesn't have many fish or large mammals, such as whales and seals, but teems with life on the seafloor. The waters are shallow, sometimes 65 feet deep or less. The most catastrophic possibility would be an oil spill, with limited capacity for a cleanup or a quick response. There is also the fear that passing ships could introduce invasive species when they dump their ballast water, affecting the gulf's ecology, she said. Pollution, and they could have some accident," Grant said of ships crossing the gulf. "There's many risks associated with their presence, for sure. It's crucial to find out what lives in the gulf, and how its waters flow, not just to preserve the Franklin wrecks but also to protect the larger ecosystem as ice retreats and ship traffic through the Northwest Passage becomes more commonplace, said Darnis and Cindy Grant, a researcher at the Universite Laval studying the gulf from the Amundsen. (Kitikmeot refers to a larger region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut that includes the gulf.) "The Queen Maud Gulf and the Kitikmeot as a whole was designated as a 'mare incognita' it means very little is known of this place," said Gerald Darnis, a researcher with the Universite Laval who coordinates the Kitikmeot Marine Ecosystems Study, a project devoted to better understanding the region. On board the Amundsen earlier this month, two journalists from The Washington Post observed as scientists studied the little-known body of water through a range of scientific devices - trawling nets, water profilers, recovering and redeploying research buoys, and others. ![]() ![]() And unless scientists, conservationists and governments understand the local ecosystem, they'll struggle to protect it.Įnter the CCGS Amundsen, a Canadian Coast Guard vessel that partners with scientists organized by the ArcticNet consortium at the Universite Laval in Quebec City to conduct research. With that increased human activity comes new environmental risks. At just shy of 70 degrees north latitude, it is largely unexplored and poorly charted - but it is growing busier, as sea ice recedes and ship traffic increases in the wake of climate change. The last voyage of Franklin's vessels is one of many mysteries of this remote region. It remains unclear how they got there: Perhaps the ships floated there, or perhaps they broke free and the straggling crew decided to operate them again. Rather, the vessels wound up in the relatively shallow waters of the Queen Maud Gulf region. In the past several years, the Erebus and the Terror have been discovered beneath the waves - but not where the ships first got stuck. It was the greatest disaster in a long and troubled history of trying to find the Northwest Passage. It was the beginning of the end of the Franklin mission, in which more than 100 men perished in the cold despite the launch of scores of ships to try to rescue them. QUEEN MAUD GULF, NUNAVUT, Canada - In 1846, in perilous seas to the north of Nunavut, Canada, the two steam-propelled ships of British explorer Sir James Franklin, the Erebus and the Terror, froze in the ice. ![]()
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