This work package focuses on the seasonal dynamics of pelagic primary production, phytoplankton community structure and carbon cycling during an annual cycle. While these seasonal dynamics are known at the entrance of the fjord, they remain understudied during much of the year within and outside the fjord. The seasonal influence of terrestrial and glacial freshwater, nutrient dynamics and light conditions on phytoplankton community and production will be studied in 3-4 key areas along a land/glacier-fjord-ocean transect.

This project will investigate the distribution, abundance, feeding and condition of capelin and sandeel in the Godthåbsfjord area. Capelin and sandeel are zooplanktorous fishes that in other areas are important for the transfer of energy to the highest tropic levels. Due to their life-history, - short lived and highly fecund, their population dynamics are heavily impacted by changes in the oceanographic conditions. Spatial and interannual changes in their growth and condition (e.g.

Fish and mussels have been used as bio-indicators of mining pollution in Greenland for decades due to their abilities to concentrate contaminants and reflect the water chemistry at the study sites. Until now, only the soft tissues have been used as these are relatively easy to prepare and analyze. However, the development of new analytical techniques such as LA-ICP-MS with the possibilities of analyzing solid materials with high spatial resolutions and low detection limits has allowed the otoliths of fish and mussel shells to be analyzed for contaminants (e.g. heavy metals) as well.

The Arctic is one of the regions where climate change will become most pronounced. When forecasting the effects of climate change on biodiversity, it is necessary to consider the possibility that species can adapt through evolution to the altered environment. We test the overarching hypothesis that the fish species Arctic charr and three-spine stickleback in Western Greenland can invoke adaptive responses to ongoing climate change.

The scientific project aim is to understand how brine expelled from growing sea ice affects ocean circulation and transport of solutes and gases across the mixed layer. The project seeks to answer the following scientific questions based on laboratory experiments, numerical model tools and measurement campaigns.

The palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic variation and terrestrial flux will be studied in sediment cores taken from the Godthåbsfjord system and from the adjacent inner shelf. Up to 6-m long gravity cores will be taken in order to cover the Holocene time window, which will allow us to study changes in ocean circulation and surface-water conditions on multi-decadal to millennial time scales. Analyses will include sedimentology, inorganic geochemistry and micropalaeontological proxies, while age models will be established through ¹⁴C and 210Pbh datings.

This project aims to study the carbon dynamics in the Godthåbsfjord during a full annual cycle. With the projected changes like increased oceanic CO₂ uptake, strong changes in the carbon dynamics and marine chemistry are expected. This is likely to have a fundamental impact on many ecosystem processes as well. Recent studies indicate that Arctic fjord systems are a strong sink for CO₂ but the driving factors for this uptake and implication on water chemistry (e.g. pH) are still unknown.

The project will provide a detailed reconstruction of changes in climate, environment and sea-ice cover in the inner part of the Godthåbsfjord region and their impacts on Arctic human societies during the Norse settlement period. A continuous climatic record covering the last 5000 years will be constructed with a special focus on the past 1000 years, i.e. during Norse settlement in Greenland. The investigations will be based on marine geological surveys, oceanography studies, supplemented by analysis of the cultural landscape.

This work package focuses on the seasonal dynamics of pelagic primary production, phytoplankton community structure and carbon cycling during an annual cycle. While these seasonal dynamics are known at the entrance of the fjord, they remain understudied during much of the year within and outside the fjord. The seasonal influence of terrestrial and glacial freshwater, nutrient dynamics and light conditions on phytoplankton community and production will be studied in 3-4 key areas along a land/glacier-fjord-ocean transect.

This project will investigate the distribution, abundance, feeding and condition of capelin and sandeel in the Godthåbsfjord area. Capelin and sandeel are zooplanktorous fishes that in other areas are important for the transfer of energy to the highest tropic levels. Due to their life-history, - short lived and highly fecund, their population dynamics are heavily impacted by changes in the oceanographic conditions. Spatial and interannual changes in their growth and condition (e.g.