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Research is organised around three workpackages that combine to improve our understanding of sea ice biogeochemistry.
The four-year project began in November, 2021.
WORKPACKAGE 1 (Leads: Philipp Assmy & Karley Campbell)
How do in situ physical-chemical conditions of sea ice environments, including turbulence-enhanced nutrient supply, affect the net community production? A suite of oceanographic sensors will be used alongside discrete sampling of contrasting sea ice environments to address this question. We will also use underwater eddy covariance to quantify O2-flux at sea ice-ocean interfaces.
WORKPACKAGE 2 (Leads: Karley Campbell & Rolf Gradinger)
What are the contributions of algal photosynthesis, algal respiration and bacterial respiration to production in sea ice environments, and how do they vary with light, nutrients and supplies of dissolved organic carbon? Sea ice algae and bacteria will be cultured at UiT's MicroSIO (Microscopic Sea Ice Organisms) laboratory for controlled experimentation using a range of methodologies, including 18O, O2 optode, 14C and 3H Leucine tracing methods.
WORKPACKAGE 3 (Leads: Pedro Duarte & Sebastien Moreau)
Are we accurately representing the net productivity of sea ice algal blooms in biogeochemical models? Using parameterizations for turbulence-driven nutrient supply (WP1) and respiration (WP2) the Los Alamos Sea Ice Model (CICE) will be updated. Bloom simulations will be run for different turbulence regimes, sea ice types and growth conditions from which projections of ice algal production in a changing climate can be made.
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