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复杂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，这些地区具有巨大的生态和社会经济重要性，特别是对北极土著社区。这些对当地渔业至关重要的生态系统受到水循环和混合等物理迁移过程的影响。研究人员将与格陵兰自然资源研究所（GINR）的科学家合作，调查格陵兰首都努克周围峡湾系统中物理海洋学和海洋生态学之间的联系。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。这一奋进不仅促进了科学认识，而且还通过创造知识为可持续管理实践提供信息来解决更广泛的社会问题，从而提高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。该项目还将培养两名博士后研究员，并将为美国和格陵兰的公众提供参与该项目的机会。该项目包括在格陵兰努克周围的峡湾系统进行有针对性的实地活动，以收集潜在混合热点附近的水文，湍流，营养和底栖动物样本，如窗台，狭窄的海峡或陡峭的峡湾壁，在冬季靠近冰川前沿的地方。耦合的海洋，海冰和海洋生态地球化学模型，约束与观测数据，将被用来阐明物理传输影响生态动力学的峡湾的机制。具体目标包括评估横向迁移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。根据模拟框架和从视频调查中得出的底栖生境分布图，以及从收集的观察结果中推断出的基于过程的联系，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化联系起来。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Kapisillit举办外联活动，并在格陵兰自然资源研究所举办一个科学讲习班，讨论数据约束耦合物理-地球化学模型的效用。这些活动将促进美国-格陵兰研究合作。在美国，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元化的STEM劳动力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值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.