On 26th of June, Dr. Gabi Stowasser went to Buckingham Palace to receive a Polar Medal from HRH Princess Anne. The Polar Medal is awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It was instituted in 1857 as the Arctic Medal, and renamed the Polar Medal in 1904.
Over her career in polar science, Gabi has worked on the trophic (feeding) relationships between living organisms in marine ecosystems of the polar regions and British Overseas Territories. She has provided new insights into the spatial and temporal functioning of marine food webs. Gabi applies a combination of biochemical and other analytical methods to identify key connections of energy and nutrient transfer between species in an ecosystem (known as trophic linkages).
For BIOPOLE, Gabi participated in all three of the Southern Ocean cruises, where she focussed on the deployment and processing of net-catch samples and the filtering of particulate matter from CTDs and surface waters sampled underway. She is presently carrying out analyses on the carbon content of these samples and the trophic relationships of net-caught pelagic organisms using stable isotope tracers.
The Author of this Article Geraint Tarling (British Antarctic Survey)