Physical and biological controls of primary production in the ice-influenced Canadian Arctic marine system

全球海冰覆盖正在发生重大变化，以应对北极变暖。随着开放水域面积的增加以冰盖消失为代价，各国和各行业正对北方表现出新的兴趣，例如，更短的航运路线、新的可开采资源和旅游业。与此同时，北方人民及其文化正受到这种变化的强调，需要适应文化全球化带来的额外压力。加拿大三分之二以上的海岸线位于北部，那里的近岸水域代表着一些生产力最高的北极地区。正是这些地区往往支持大多数大型动物，因此代表着重要的生态系统服务，如自给性狩猎、文化习俗和旅游业。然而，我们对这一区域的知识基础没有近海地区那么强大，更容易被大型科考船进入。因此，有必要提高我们对敏感的北极沿海地区海洋生态系统过程的理解。在接下来的5年里，我将通过方法开发、专门的实地项目研究和新的研究方向来满足这一需求，研究推动冰层、水柱(水层)和海底(海底)初级生产的工艺。更具体地说，我将寻求：1)调查受冰影响的水域中季节性和年际表层初级生产力的变异性和趋势，2)确定影响冰、中上层和底栖环境初级生产力分配的物理过程的重要性，以及3)研究短暂冰藻和多年生大型藻类初级生产力的养分吸收和细胞内养分储存的季节性策略。通过实现这些目标，我的研究计划将增加我们在初级生产的物理和生物控制方面的知识，开发新的观察技术，激发新的想法，并填补知识空白。该计划将获得的新信息以及至少2名PDF、4名博士、3名硕士和5名理科高素质人员(HQP)的相关培训将有助于满足北方人、地区和省级政府、加拿大和行业在快速气候变化面前的预测需求。

Global sea ice cover is significantly changing in response to our warming Arctic. As the area of open water increases at the expense of a disappearing ice cover, nations and industries are showing newfound interest in the North for, e.g., shorter shipping routes, new extractable resource access, and tourism. At the same time, Northern peoples and their cultures are being stressed by the change, needing to adapt in the face of an added pressure of cultural globalization. Over two thirds of Canada's coastline is located in the North where nearshore waters represent some of the most productive Arctic regions. It is these regions that tend to support the majority of large animals and therefore represent critical ecosystem services such as subsistence hunting, cultural practices, and tourism. However, our knowledge base of this zone is not as strong as that of offshore regions, more easily accessed by large research vessels. Therefore, there is a need to improve our understanding of marine ecosystem processes in the sensitive Arctic coastal zone. Over the next 5-years I will contribute to this need through method development, dedicated field program studies, and new research directions investigating processes driving primary production in the ice, water column (pelagic), and on the ocean floor (benthic). More specifically, I will seek to: 1) investigate variability and trends of seasonal and inter-annual surface primary production in ice-influenced waters, 2) determine the importance of physical processes that influence nutrient supply on partitioning primary production in ice, pelagic, and benthic environments, and 3) examine seasonal strategies of nutrient uptake and intracellular nutrient storage for primary production by ephemeral ice algae and perennial macroalgae. By meeting these objectives, my research program will increase our knowledge on physical and biological controls of primary production, develop new observational techniques, fuel novel ideas, and fill knowledge gaps. The new information to be obtained and the associated training of at least 2 PDF, 4 PhD, 3 MSc, and 5 BSc highly qualified personnel (HQP) from this program will help meet the forecasted needs of Northerners, territorial and provincial governments, Canada and industry in the face of rapid climate change.