Abstract
<jats:p> The Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) is a shallow conduit conveying Pacific- and Atlantic-derived waters to Baffin Bay via Lancaster Sound, Jones Sound, and Nares Strait. At the southern edge of Baffin Bay, Davis Strait is a key gateway for exchange of Arctic modified water masses with the Labrador Sea and Atlantic Ocean. We estimated trace metal and macronutrient fluxes through major water transport pathways by sampling of these exchange points in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2024 for iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), vanadium (V), barium (Ba), nitrate (NO <jats:sub>3</jats:sub> ), phosphate (PO <jats:sub>4</jats:sub> ), and silicic acid (Si(OH) <jats:sub>4</jats:sub> ). Ultimately, the Arctic waters which have transited the CAA are a source of Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ba, V, and the macronutrients to the Atlantic, while there is no net flux of Fe and Mn across Davis Strait. We propose that rapid warming in the Arctic due to ongoing climate change, and the more frequent failure of the Kane Basin ice arch in Nares Strait will increase the southward flux of Co, Ni, Cu and Cd, but diminish the flux of Mn and Fe. Our results suggest potential changes to micro- and macronutrient availability in highly productive regions of the Arctic and in source waters feeding into the North Atlantic. </jats:p>