The acceleration of icebergs and glaciers melt associated with large releases of iron, impacts biochemical and physical characteristics in the water column, influencing phytoplankton dynamic. As phytoplankton mitigates global warming by fixing the greenhouse gas CO2 into biomass and is the first vital link in the food chain, thus these changes will affect the carbon cycling and the entire food web in the Arctic. Therefore, the objective is to describe the biological and chemical properties in the water column, along transects from coast to shore, and near the ice tongue during summer. Opportunistic samples could also be collected in particular hydrographic area identified with CTD measurements. These would permit to investigate how this near-shore dynamic affect bacterial and primary production in the upper water column.

Field site: Villum Research Station, Station Nord, Greenland

PI: Soren Rysgaard (CEOS, ARC, GCRC)

Project Lead: Virginie Galindo (CEOS)