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

由于北极变暖，全球海冰覆盖正在发生显著变化。随着开放水域面积的增加，冰盖的消失为代价，各国和工业对北方表现出了新的兴趣，例如，更短的航运路线，新的可开采资源的获取和旅游业。与此同时，北方人民和他们的文化正受到变化的压力，需要适应面对文化全球化的额外压力。加拿大超过三分之二的海岸线位于北部，那里的近岸水域是北极地区最具生产力的地区。正是这些地区往往支持大多数大型动物，因此代表了关键的生态系统服务，如自给狩猎、文化习俗和旅游业。然而，我们对该区域的知识基础并不像近海区域那样强大，大型研究船更容易进入近海区域。因此，有必要提高我们对北极敏感沿海地区海洋生态系统过程的认识。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，调查推动冰、水柱（上层）和海底（底栖）初级生产的过程。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面初级生产的变化和趋势，2)确定影响营养供应的物理过程对冰、远洋和底栖环境中初级生产分配的重要性，以及3)研究短期冰藻类和多年生大型藻类对初级生产的营养摄取和细胞内营养储存的季节性策略。通过实现这些目标，我的研究计划将增加我们对初级生产的物理和生物控制的知识，开发新的观察技术，激发新的想法，填补知识空白。从该项目中获得的新信息和至少2名PDF、4名博士、3名硕士和5名理学士高素质人才（HQP）的相关培训将有助于满足北方人、地区和省政府、加拿大和行业在面对快速气候变化时的预测需求。

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.