Response of ocean productivity to a warming Arctic

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High-latitude oceans are experiencing the most dramatic climatic variations due to global warming. Predicted changes (e.g. in sea ice cover, circulation patterns, water column stratification, temperature, dissolved carbon dioxide, nutrient supply) will impact marine ecosystem structure and function by affecting the productivity of floating unicellular algae (phytoplankton) at the base of the biological system. These photosynthetic organisms take up nutrients dissolved in surface waters and deliver them to the deep sea after sinking, death and decomposition thereby controlling the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Therefore, phytoplankton play a critical role in modifying the earth's climate by changing the carbon balance of the ocean. In addition to modulating climate, phytoplankton physiology can affect nutrient transfer along marine food webs with potentially dramatic consequences for the survival of fish and marine mammals in arctic seas. Therefore, it is critical to experimentally evaluate phytoplankton responses to warming, especially in the western Arctic where phytoplankton processes studies are few. Results from my NSERC Discovery research program will shed new light on the factors affecting the productivity of cold-water marine phytoplankton, and improve our understanding of nutrient cycles, carbon export and food web dynamics in the Arctic Ocean under a changing climate. This Northern Research Supplement is critical for the success of my Discovery Individual program by supporting expensive logistic costs associated with arctic research, especially travel, and shipping of supplies and samples. We will take an active role in the dissemination of findings about the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems to northern communities. By removing the 'element of surprise', information about potential future changes will help these communities adapt to new socio-economic conditions and alternative ways of subsistence.