The PI proposes to use a time-series of the relevant atmospheric, hydrologic and oceanic parameters in conjunction with remote sensing methods to examine the Siberian shelf-land system. The impact of linkages between hydrology, atmospheric circulation and the sea-ice regime over the Siberian shelves will be assessed for a decadal variability that affects the Eurasian Arctic. The study will identify 1) links among riverine fresh-water supply, sea-ice formation and sediment export by ice rafting, 2) quantify the regional and temporal variability of the relevant processes, 3) determine the relative importance of major, catastrophic events as compared to the gradual evolutionary regime of coastal and basin-wide sediment transport, 4) identify a set of critical processes and parameters that delimit the gradual and the catastrophic regime. Those analyses will yield an understanding of land-ocean interactions that will yield important information necessary for predicting impacts from global change in the Arctic.
