Special Feature: The Hudson Bay System Study (BaySys)
Freshwater entering Hudson Bay is susceptible to modification, both in terms of water quality and quantity, through exchange processes in the watershed, and through climate forcing of the hydrological cycle. A unique aspect of this system is the role that freshwater plays on both dynamic and thermodynamic sea ice processes within Hudson Bay. This freshwater-marine coupling affects all aspects of the physical, biological and biogeochemical systems of Hudson Bay through the control that sea ice has on the exchange of light, heat and momentum in the marine system. As such, the objective of the Hudson Bay System Study (BaySys) is to provide a scientific basis to separate the effects of climate change from those of regulation of freshwater on the physical, biological and biogeochemical processes operating within the Hudson Bay Complex. This objective is addressed through a ‘systems’ perspective, with sub-objectives to examine the climate, marine, and freshwater systems, and to study the cycling of carbon and contaminants.
University of California Press