Coordination team at the AWI
Almut Brunner
Susann Henkel
Bennet Juhls
Jan Kahl
Thomas Krumpen
Gesine Mollenhauer
Anne Morgenstern
Project website: https://www.arcticpulse.ca/
Arctic Pulse 2027
A Joint Research Campaign in the Beaufort Sea Region
Arctic Pulse 2027 represents a major international research effort in the Canadian Beaufort Sea region, bringing together an interdisciplinary international team of scientists to investigate how rapid environmental change in the Mackenzie–Beaufort system is reshaping Arctic land–ocean linkages, terrestrial landscapes, and marine ecosystems.
The campaign integrates ship-based observations from the German research icebreaker RV Polarstern (Expedition BeauPAIR) and the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Amundsen, complemented by airborne surveys using AWI’s Polar 5 and Polar 6 aircraft to observe sea-ice conditions, permafrost disturbances and greenhouse gas fluxes (REVISIT flight campaign). These efforts are combined with coordinated terrestrial and coastal research activities within a tightly aligned observational framework. Arctic Pulse 2027 represents a key phase of intensified Canadian–German collaboration, building momentum toward sustained long-term coordination and the International Polar Year 2032–33.
The Beaufort Sea region and its adjacent terrestrial Arctic are among the areas experiencing the fastest climate-driven changes worldwide. Thawing permafrost, accelerating coastal erosion, retreating glaciers, and increasing discharge from the Mackenzie River are fundamentally altering the transport of freshwater, sediments, carbon, nutrients, and contaminants from land to ocean. These changes directly affect the Arctic ocean’s freshwater balance and circulation, sea-ice, marine food webs, greenhouse-gas exchange, and seafloor processes, with consequences for ecosystems, global climate feedbacks, and the livelihoods and food security of Inuvialuit communities.
From the boreal forest and tundra to the deep ocean, Arctic Pulse 2027 follows the journey of water, carbon, and sediments across the entire land–ocean system. Ship-based teams will track ocean structure and ecosystem dynamics from the continental shelf into the deep Canada Basin, while seafloor surveys and sediment coring reveal how carbon and greenhouse gases are processed beneath the ocean, and how these processes were different in the geological past.
At the coast, research teams will investigate how the warming Arctic is reshaping land–ocean systems, as changing river discharge, permafrost thaw, and sea-ice dynamics alter the transfer of freshwater, nutrients, organic matter, sediments, and contaminants across the delta and nearshore zone. These interconnected processes are studied through a coordinated observing system that links ship-based expeditions, airborne surveys, land-based monitoring sites, and targeted coastal and geophysical investigations. Together, these components capture changes in coastal erosion, shallow-water environments, subsea permafrost, ecosystem structure, and longer-term environmental variability. By integrating observations across atmosphere, land, and ocean, Arctic Pulse provides a holistic view of how physical, biogeochemical, and ecological processes interact across the land-ocean interface. These transformations not only reshape Arctic ecosystems but also have direct implications for coastal stability, infrastructure, food security, and environmental risks faced by Inuvialuit communities, linking marine processes to rapidly changing Arctic landscapes.
Airborne observations tie these perspectives together by capturing seasonal evolution and thus resolving key preconditioning processes, while at the same time substantially extending the spatial coverage of other observations. Through repeated surveys conducted not only from Inuvik but also from Utqiaġvik and Prudhoe Bay (Alaska), they capture temporal dynamics during the critical spring-to-summer transition and connect processes across the land–sea interface, including ice deformation and breakup, snowmelt progress, freshwater fluxes, erosion dynamics, and greenhouse-gas exchange.
Arctic Pulse 2027 is embedded in a broader international research landscape. The campaign is closely coordinated with major U.S. initiatives pursuing complementary objectives in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea region, including NASA FORTE and Arctic PISCES, maximising scientific impact through shared observations, harmonised methods, and joint data synthesis.
Partnership with Inuvialuit organizations is a central pillar of the campaign. Research priorities and logistics have been co-developed from the outset through close collaboration with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Fisheries Joint Management Committee, and local Hunters and Trappers Committees. Inuvialuit partners will actively participate in the sea-going cruise, joint knowledge production, mutual knowledge exchange and hands-on training of young researchers, supported by nearshore and helicopter-based activities and community-focused sharing of results.
Specific description of Polarstern cruise
The main goal of the BeauPAIR campaign (PS161 and PS162) is to assess the effects of human-driven and natural climate changes across the Mackenzie-Beaufort Sea transect, focusing on how changing freshwater discharge from the Mackenzie River impacts biogeochemical cycles, marine ecosystems, pollution, benthic processes, and sediment dynamics today and in the geological past. By detecting current climate forcing and understanding resulting environmental changes, the campaign aims to help coastal communities better prepare for potential negative impacts.
Research will address the following fields and hypotheses:
1) Biogeochemical Shifts, Carbon Pathways, and Emerging Contaminants
H1: Arctic amplification, permafrost thaw, increased river runoff and retreating glaciers lead to biogeochemical shifts, increased input of carbon and emerging contaminants
2) Ecosystem Dynamics, Arctic Cod and fishes of the Central Arctic Ocean
H2: Substantial shifts in productivity, ecosystem dynamics result from changes in runoff and biogeochemical processes, affecting the entire food web including Arctic Cod and fishes of the Central Arctic Ocean
3) Seafloor Processes
H3: Input of terrestrial materials, particularly from the Mackenzie River, determines benthic fluxes and microbial communities
4) Ocean Circulation and Paleo Perspectives
H4: Land-ocean interplay in concert with sea-level change induced opening and closure of the Bering Strait determine sediment budgets as well as circulation patterns of the Arctic Ocean and beyond
Led by AWI in collaboration with Canadian and European partners, this interdisciplinary Polarstern campaign will integrate indigenous knowledge, prioritize community-relevant research, and foster new scientific collaborations. Research activities will be coordinated across land, sea, and air: river and sediment sampling nearshore, aerial surveys and remote sensing, and offshore studies from the continental shelf to the Arctic Ocean. Close coordination among all components and partners will ensure efficient sampling, shared timelines, and collaborative data analysis, with strong involvement from indigenous and local stakeholders.
Specific description of the REVISIT airborne campaign
The REVISIT campaign (Repeated surveys of EnVIronmental Sites In Transition) provides the airborne component of Arctic Pulse 2027 and is designed to capture the seasonal evolution and preconditioning processes of the Arctic land–ocean system prior to and during planned research activities on land and at sea.
The Arctic is undergoing rapid and unprecedented change driven by climate warming. Declining sea ice, thawing permafrost, eroding coasts, changing snow regimes, and shifts in atmosphere–surface exchange processes are fundamentally altering Arctic environments and their role in the global climate system. To better understand these transformations and their cascading impacts, the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), together with the German Research Centre for Geoscience (GFZ) and international partners, will conduct the REVISIT airborne campaign in spring and early summer 2027.
REVISIT will use AWI’s research aircraft Polar 5 and Polar 6 to investigate the interactions between sea ice, snow cover, permafrost, and the atmosphere during the critical transition from winter to summer. Through repeated surveys over key sites in the Mackenzie–Beaufort region near Inuvik (Canada) and Utqiaġvik (Alaska), the campaign will capture initial conditions, track temporal changes, and identify the processes that determine the summer state of the Arctic system.
The campaign is closely coordinated with international partners and complementary field activities, including collaborations with the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, as well as NASA-led programs such as Arctic-COLORS and FORTE. In addition, REVISIT is directly linked to the RV Polarstern BeauPAIR expedition (PS161 and PS162), providing essential information on preconditioning processes such as snowmelt, freshwater fluxes, and early-season sea-ice evolution.
Research objectives
The REVISIT campaign addresses three tightly coupled research domains:
1) Sea ice processes and seasonal evolution
- Quantify changes in sea ice thickness, surface roughness, and snow cover from late winter through the melt season
- Investigate the formation and evolution of melt ponds and their impact on sea ice energy balance and decay
- Assess deformation processes and their role in redistributing sea ice mass
- Improve satellite retrievals and model representations through high-resolution airborne observations
2) Permafrost, snow dynamics, and coastal processes
- Monitor snow distribution, melt timing, and surface hydrology across tundra and coastal environments
- Quantify permafrost thaw, terrain subsidence, and coastal erosion using repeat high-resolution mapping
- Investigate thermokarst processes, lake dynamics, and landscape change across key Arctic sites
- Link snow and surface conditions to permafrost thermal regimes and thaw trajectories
3) Atmosphere–surface exchange and greenhouse gases
- Quantify fluxes of methane (CH₄), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and energy between land, ocean, and atmosphere
- Capture early-season emission pulses associated with snowmelt and ice break-up
- Assess spatial variability and representativeness of flux measurements across heterogeneous Arctic landscapes
- Improve regional carbon budget estimates and constrain climate feedbacks
In summary, REVISIT will deliver high-resolution, multi-sensor datasets that connect processes across scales and provide critical validation data for a wide range of satellite missions.
