Arrived in Resolute Bay

After another day of travel, I have reached Resolute Bay together with two teammates, Ceri and Jamie. We landed at 6:45 pm on the 31st March. Resolute Bay is in the state Nunavut, and the second northest community of Canada [red dot on the map]. The population counts about 230 people and is one of the smaller communities up in the Canadian Arctic.

Map of Resolute Bay [red] and the CatLin ice camp [green]

My luaggage did not make it to Resolute as it got already lost  at the airport in Washington DC. My bags contain crucial cold weather clothing and science equipment. I spent hours on the phone to the airline last night trying to locate the bags and to arrange its transfer to Ottawa and then to Resolute Bay. Only after my arrival in Resolute I got the news that it is in Ottawa and hopefully now being transfered to FirstAir carrying it to Resolute Bay tomorrow.

We will spend few days here in Resolute Bay organizing, packing and final testing of gear and science equipment. Our flight to the ice camp site [green dot on the map] is planned for Monday, the 4th April if weather permitted. Currently, the weather is nice...-20 deg Cels and light wind. That's the way we like it.

Snow in the Ocean

In the world’s oceans, from the Arctic to Antarctica, there is a natural phenomenon known as marine snow. Tiny bits of carbon-rich matter bind together and sink down into the oceans depths, transporting carbon dioxide from the air to the bottom of the sea.

Marine snow is enriched in sticky clumps of carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are made by single-cell organisms called phytoplankton that live lower in the ocean to stick together in colonies. Eventually the carbohydrates break off the phytoplankton and clump together forming jelly-like particles. Those particles are the glue that binds marine snow together. There is concern that as the ocean acidifies, from increasing levels of CO₂ dissolving in seawater, the amount of material excreted by phytoplankton may also increase. This, in turn, could cause more glue to assemble and consequently to enhance the formation of marine snow. Marine snow does not only take away carbon we pump into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, but is also an essential food source for the deep sea. For this reason marine snow has the capacity to dramatically alter the natural cycle of the oceans and the environment for marine life.

I am preparing now for my imminent departure to do research on ocean acidification on the Arctic ice. During my experiments I will take phytoplankton into the future by exposing them to CO2 levels forecasted for the end of the century. I will investigate the response of phytoplankton in terms of carbohydrate and subsequent glue production. I will “incubate” CO2-adjusted natural seawater in bottles placed in ice holes to trigger the growth of phytoplankton. Regular sampling from the incubation bottles will reveal any changes in the fate of carbon compared to unadjusted seawater.

                                 Base camp of CatLin Arctic Survey in 2010

All this will happen nearby an ice camp in proximity to the magnetic North Pole, which will be established by the UK-based Catlin Arctic Survey. I will use this blog to report about life and work in the camp. Temperatures down to -40 Cels. are not uncommon making life and work in the camp extremely difficult. However, I am confident of a good outcome of my research as I have completed preliminary work during the CatLin camp in 2010, primarily to test sampling and some preparatory steps to preserve samples for later analysis in the laboratory.  Preparedness means success in the unforgiving and harsh Arctic environment.

 

Many studies have investigated the potential impacts of ocean acidification on marine life, but less on possible changes in the fate of carbon. Our research at the ice camp will generate data on an under-researched field, and inform climate modelers on a potentially unaccounted for carbon sink.