The warming of the Arctic results in numerous changes including the replacement of multi-year ice (MYI) by first-year ice (FYI) and an increase of precipitations in Greenland, especially of snow. These changes of ice and snow thickness will change the light availability for microalgae, which are the only source of primary production in spring. Therefore, our objective is to compare the primary productivity and photosynthetic properties of microalgae in FYI and MYI before the entire disappearance of the latter. To this end, the bottom of both types of sea ice will be collected from late-April to end of May, once or twice a week, and also during summer for the multi-year sea ice. Environmental factors driving variability in production and photosynthetic properties will be also documented.

Field site: Villum Research Station, Station Nord, Greenland

PI: Soren Rysgaard

Project Lead: Virginie Galindo

Project participants: Virginie Galindo (CEOS), Lars Chresten Lund-Hansen (ARC), Brian Sorrell (ARC)