Collaborative Research: A Multipronged Approach to Investigate how Hydrography and Mixing Shape Productive Fjord Ecosystems in Greenland

了解物理海洋学和海洋生态系统之间的错综复杂的关系，对于预测气候变化和变化对北极生产性生态系统的影响至关重要。这项研究的重点是格陵兰峡湾和邻近的陆架海，这是具有巨大生态和社会经济重要性的地区，特别是对北极土著社区。这些生态系统对当地渔业至关重要，受到水循环和混合等物理运输过程的影响。与格陵兰自然资源研究所(GINR)的科学家合作，研究人员将在格陵兰首府努克周围的峡湾系统调查物理海洋学和海洋生态之间的联系。通过将实地观察与峡湾系统的先进计算机模型相结合，研究人员将研究物理运输过程如何影响营养物质供应、初级生产力，并最终影响鱼类和海洋哺乳动物的食物供应。这一努力不仅促进了科学理解，而且通过创造知识为可持续管理做法提供信息，解决了更广泛的社会关切，从而增强了当地社区对气候引起的海洋资源变化的适应能力。该项目由早期职业科学家领导，其中包括两名女性。该项目还将培训两名博士后研究员，并将为美国和格陵兰的公众提供参与该项目的机会。该项目涉及格陵兰努克峡湾系统的有针对性的实地活动，以收集潜在的混合热点附近的水文、湍流、营养和底栖动物样本，如窗台、狭窄海峡或陡峭的峡湾墙，以及在冬季条件下靠近冰川前缘。一个耦合的海洋、海冰和海洋生物地球化学模型，受观测数据的约束，将被用来阐明物理运输影响峡湾生态动力学的机制。具体目标包括评估横向输送在空间养分分布中的作用，以及评估垂直混合对初级生产力的影响。根据视频调查得出的模拟框架和底栖生境分布图，以及从收集的观测中推断的基于过程的联系，研究人员将把底栖生境分布与物理和生物地球化学峡湾条件的变异性联系起来。对未来条件的模拟将为预测生态系统对环境变化的反应提供一个框架，这一产品将有助于评估当地土著社区所依赖的重要海洋资源的未来。该项目将在努克和卡皮西利特举办外联活动，并在格陵兰自然资源研究所举办一次科学讲习班，讨论数据受限的物理-生物-生物地球化学耦合模型的用途。这些活动将促进美国和格陵兰的研究合作。在美国国内，该项目支持早期职业科学家的职业发展，并将通过鼓励年轻女性从事北极海洋科学的外联活动，进一步发展多样化的STEM劳动力队伍。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Understanding the intricate relationship between physical oceanography and marine ecosystems is crucial for predicting the impacts of climate variability and shifts on productive Arctic ecosystems. This research focuses on Greenland fjords and adjacent shelf seas, which are areas of immense ecological and socio-economic importance, particularly to Arctic Indigenous communities. These ecosystems, vital for local fisheries, are influenced by physical transport processes such as water circulation and mixing. In collaboration with scientists at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (GINR), the researchers will investigate the connections between physical oceanography and marine ecology in the fjord system around Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. By combining field observations with an advanced computer model of the fjord system, the researchers will examine how physical transport processes affect nutrient supply, primary productivity, and ultimately, the food supply for fish and marine mammals. This endeavor not only advances scientific understanding, but also addresses broader societal concerns by creating knowledge to inform sustainable management practices, thereby enhancing the resilience of local communities to climate-induced changes in marine resources. The project is led by early career scientists, including two who are women. The project will also train two postdoctoral fellows and will provide opportunities for the public in the U.S. and Greenland to engage with the project.The project involves targeted field campaigns in the fjord system around Nuuk, Greenland to collect hydrographic, turbulence, nutrient and benthic fauna samples near potential mixing hotspots such as sills, narrow straits or the steep fjord walls, and in winter conditions in close proximity to a glacier front. A coupled ocean, sea ice, and marine biogeochemistry model, constrained with observational data, will be used to elucidate the mechanisms through which physical transport influences ecological dynamics in the fjords. Specific objectives include assessing the role of lateral transport in spatial nutrient distribution, and evaluating the impact of vertical mixing on primary productivity. Based on the modeling framework and maps of distribution of benthic habitats derived from video surveys, as well as process-based links inferred from the collected observations, the researchers will link benthic habitat distribution with the variability of physical and biogeochemical fjord conditions. Simulations of future conditions will offer a framework for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental changes, a product that will aid in the assessment of the future of vital marine resources upon which local Indigenous communities depend. The project will host outreach events in Nuuk and Kapisillit, and a scientific workshop at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources to discuss the utility of the data-constrained coupled physical-biogeochemistry model. These events will facilitate U.S.-Greenland research collaborations. Within the U.S., the project supports the career development of early-career scientists and will further develop a diverse STEM workforce through outreach events that encourage young women to pursue Arctic marine science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.