The contiguous panarctic Riverine Coastal Domain: A unifying concept

The Riverine Coastal Domain (RCD) is a narrow (∼<15 km), shallow (∼10 m) contiguous feature that is primarily forced driven by an aggregate of continental runoff sources, and which extends clockwise ∼10 × 103 km around northern North America; we hypothesize that a similar feature extends around northern Eurasia. The RCD carries a terrestrial signal that affects light, nutrient and carbon regimes, and provides a coastal pathway for the dispersal and migration of marine biota. The physical and biogeochemical variables within the RCD yield a contiguous gradient of environmental conditions along and across the panarctic coastal zone. The RCD acts as the initial connector between terrestrial and marine ecosystems and may become even more prominent as terrestrial runoff, permafrost thawing and local ice melt are assumed to increase in the near-future climate.