The BIOPOLE researchers each gave well received oral presentations. Aidan talked about his data mining, parameterisations and modelling of the copepod Calanoides acutus at a session on the dynamics and role of diapausing copepods in marine ecosystems. Nadine spoke on knowledge gaps and research priorities in zooplankton research at a session on zooplankton in a changing Southern Ocean. In other sessions, Dan talked about stoichiometry modelling and Kathryn, some associated work with the COMICS programme on carbon budgets. Geraint gave a keynote talk considering biogeographic shifts in copepod species in the Arctic and potential impacts on the lipid pump there.
Geraint Tarling, Vicky Fowler (BAS Post-doc), Aidan Hunter and Nadine Johnston at a reception
The BIOPOLE researchers also took part in a number of satellite workshops covering zooplankton trait data and time-series. Also notable was a zooplankton art session that commenced with the reading of a poem on zooplankton vertical migration by BIOPOLE WP2 co-lead, Jen Freer, entitled “A tale of Light and Fear”.
The symposium proved useful in assessing the latest methods and findings in zooplankton research and in establishing further collaborative links for the BIOPOLE programme.
Kate Hendry attended the Netherlands Polar Day on April 23rd in the Museon-Omniversum in The Hague. The NL Polar Day, arranged by the Dutch Research Council (NWO)’s Netherlands Polar Programme team, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), every year brings together researchers from around the Netherlands from universities, research institutes, tourism and industry who are interested in all things Arctic and Antarctic. The Netherlands have a strong history of polar research, and rely on international collaborations for infrastructure access: in the Arctic this is largely through their links with the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Germany, and in the Antarctic through their Memorandum of Understanding with BAS. For example, Rothera hosts the Dirk Gerritz lab, which was built in 2012.
This year’s NL Polar Day was ably hosted by Sietze Norder from the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, and featured a plenary talk by René van Hell, the Netherlands Ambassador for the Arctic. Kate gave a presentation in the first of the parallel sessions, updating a packed room on the new BAS Science Strategy and giving some recent highlights from Rothera including the glider operations, the atmospheric aerosols lab, and the Windracer autonomous aerial vehicle (thanks to BIOPOLE’s Hugh Venables, as well as Tom Lachlan-Cope and Tom Jordan for their input!).
The poster session featured APECS members as well as more established scientists. Kate also gave a poster on the broader aims of BIOPOLE, and was able to engage with a number of existing colleagues and new contacts on the project objectives and successes so far.
Photo: NL Polar Day 2024 by Tom Doms
The day finished with a fully immersive IMAX Arctic experience in the Omniverson, including a “close encounter” with a polar bear (thankfully virtually!), and a drinks reception in the museum.
I’m Laura Taylor, a PhD student at BAS working on Southern Ocean biogeochemistry. My work involves exploring the interactions between the carbon and silica cycles across Southern Ocean environments, particularly in relation to different sources of nutrient input to the ocean from ice. Before starting my PhD and joining BIOPOLE, I completed my undergraduate and masters degrees at UEA.
What do you do within BIOPOLE?
Within BIOPOLE, I am in work packages 1 and 2, with the majority of my PhD work being included in these areas. My main contribution to the project so far has been organising the biogeochemical cycling on the Southern Ocean BIOPOLE I cruise, where I coordinated a group of PhD students to collect samples across 12 parameters as we completed a transect from the open ocean into the sea ice.
What have you enjoyed about BIOPOLE so far?
So far, the cruise has been a massive highlight, but I have also really enjoyed being a part of the BIOPOLE community, especially the ECR Network which is a brilliant space for getting to know researchers in other areas.
Tell us about a skill or trait unique to you that you would like to share?
I’m not sure I have any particularly unique traits, but when I’m not doing science I love to go scuba diving as much as I can (although less in landlocked Cambridge), finding good local coffee, and gardening.
The meeting spanned through three days and was filled with fruitful discussions, great scientific talks, exciting presentations, interesting keynotes and much more. All sessions were chaired by BIOPOLE Early Career Researchers (ECRs).
The poster session followed. After the poster session, quick-fire talks took place, after which we had a discussion.
The second day started with the ECRs’ breakfast. After the breakfast, Guang Yang delivered a keynote on ‘Zooplankton mediated carbon pumps’.
Next, we learned about the major BIOPOLE fieldwork efforts in Arctic (Arctic ships), Ny Alesund, and Southern Ocean (BIOPOLE Cruise I).
Presentations on data management, the Decade Collaborative Centre for the Southern Ocean Region (DCC-SOR), and Arctic policy were delivered, along with updates from the ECRs.
We then had four breakout sessions before lunch and four afterward. After the breakout session, Katrin Linse delivered a keynote on ‘Benthic elements of BIOPOLE’. We closed the day with the Executive Board and Programme Advisory Board meeting.
The third and the last day of the meeting started with the ECR-led session on the ‘Imposter syndrome: taming your inner critic’. Following that, we heard the rapporteurs’ reports from the breakout sessions and engaged in a discussion. Further, the PAB delivered an insightful report for the project. Before we concluded the meeting, we had a couple of discussion sessions on ‘Interaction with partners and within the project to achieve key BIOPOLE objectives in Arctic and Antarctic’ as well as ‘BIOPOLE into the future and lessons learned’.
We would like to express our gratitude to every single individual for their work in BIOPOLE and for their participation in the meeting be it in-person or virtual.
British Antarctic Survey recently led the highly successful BIOPOLE Southern Ocean Cruise I (Nov-Dec 2023), which was the first ‘formal’ scientific voyage of the RRS Sir David Attenborough (SD033). Taking place over 10 days in an otherwise logistic-heavy six-week schedule, BIOPOLE I was the first funded scientific project undertaken on our new research vessel. The objectives of this cruise addressed a range of Tasks under Work Packages 1-3. It sought to understand the role that annual sea ice retreat plays in setting the conditions for the spring bloom and how this bloom acts to draw down carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it in the deep ocean. In addition, the fortuitous placement of the A23a megaberg allowed us to undertake opportunistic sampling of how the colossal chunk of the Filchner ice shelf, first calving in 1986, is modifying the physical and biogeochemical properties of the surrounding ocean as it moves northwards. This ‘encounter’ with the world’s largest iceberg and the associated drone footage also generated massive media interest across the globe.
BIOPOLE I was undertaken by an 11-person science team, including BIOPOLE scientists Andrew Meijers (Principal Scientific Officer, physics), Nadine Johnston (ecosystems), Gabi Stowasser (ecosystems), Alex Brearley (gliders), Petra ten Hoopen (data manager), and BIOPOLE PhD student Laura Taylor (biogeochemistry), brilliantly supported by BAS Antarctic Marine Engineering, IT, data and lab management personnel, during an intense 10-day period in early December. The small team was ably backed up by significant shore-based support, both for glider piloting but also troubleshooting, sample and data processing. The survey section stretched across the rapidly retreating ice edge from the northwest of the Powell Basin to well into the Weddell Sea and 100% pack ice; and back out again. Over 1640 individual water samples were taken from the more than 30 CTDs, along with 10 Mammoth and almost 30 Bongo net deployments. The voyage also deployed three autonomous gliders, including two capable of novel under-ice navigation. These presently remain in the water following the development of the spring bloom and further retreat of the ice, and are providing greater spatio-temporal context to the ship-based process study. Additionally, personnel were craned onto the sea ice to collect sea ice cores in support of BAS PhD projects, and a mooring rescued at short notice from the path of A23a.
SD033 crew and science party at one of the sea ice stations
BIOPOLE I’s objectives were to determine the dynamics, biogeochemical composition and structural change in the upper water column as the ocean moves seasonally from being fully ice covered to fully exposed, as well as determine the structure and composition of the spring phytoplankton bloom and associated mesozooplankton community, particularly the copepod Calanoides acutus. The emphasis on copepods is part of the core BIOPOLE objective of quantifying the lipid component of the biological carbon pump. Over the course of their development, C. acutus develop a large carbon-rich lipid sac, primarily to fuel their metabolism and aid buoyancy during their winter diapause (a form of hibernation used to survive low food levels and avoid predation) at depths of (potentially) up to 2500 m. This deep diapause acts to transport carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, but this transport has never been quantified despite the vast biomass that copepods represent.
Using a combination of respiration experiments together with investigations of their lipid sac concentration and size, population structure, distribution, and abundance, we can determine how much carbon this species is capable of transporting to the deep ocean, and its influence on nutrient recycling in the upper water column. The results of this cruise will be complemented by work carried out in the austral summer of 2022/23 onboard RRS Discovery (DY158) and a further BIOPOLE cruise in the austral autumn of Feb/Mar 2025 onboard RRS Sir David Attenborough where the late season condition of copepods will be assessed.
Despite fears of ‘first cruise’ teething issues the ship and personnel performed near perfectly. The SDA demonstrated its great capabilities; switching speedily between logistics and science, and easily handling challenging ice conditions, all whilst providing an unprecedented level of comfort for expeditioners! As ever a massive thank you must go to the officers and crew of the SDA, for delivering successful science with enthusiasm and skill, as well as to the science and support party who pulled together and supported one another at all times to produce some excellent and exciting new data.
BIOPOLE also attracted extensive media coverage during this cruise. The opportunistic science carried out at megaberg A23a had a high media profile, with the article initially in BBC News online leading to a number of further interviews by the global press of a number of scientists on board. These included lengthy interviews with Andrew on the BBC news channel and news hour as well as CBS streaming news, Laura on CBC News Canada, and Alex on CNN’s Tik Tok channel! Nadine gave interviews on the BIOPOLE 1 cruise and A23a on BBC Science in Action, BBC Inside Science, and BBC’s World tonight. Nadine also participated in STEM learning’s 2023 Protecting Our Planet Day Protecting Our Ice Session which was led by BAS PhD student Rosanne Smith and broadcast live from the RRS SDA and Rothera Research Station, and viewed by 54, 696 people (51,600 young people and 3, 096 adults).
Cruise track of SD033, with the inset showing the location of BIOPOLE I science across the sea ice edge
I am a Marine Ecologist working within the Ecosystems team at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. Over the last 15 years I have mainly worked on the trophic relationships in polar marine ecosystems and the marine ecosystems of the British Overseas Territories. I am interested in the spatial and temporal functioning of marine food webs and use a combination of biochemical analytical methods to identify key trophic linkages in the pelagic and benthic realms of the ocean. In recent years I have also been involved in work investigating the role of zooplankton and fish in the carbon cycling of the ocean. I divide most of my time between participating in cruises and analysing samples in the laboratory here in Cambridge.
What do you do within BIOPOLE and what have you enjoyed about BIOPOLE so far?
In BIOPOLE I am part of WP2 which focuses on biological processes that contribute to the carbon transport into the deep ocean. In November last year I had the good fortune to be part of the first BIOPOLE cruise. With a fantastic team on board, we set out to determine the dynamics, biochemical composition and structural change in the upper water column in the northern part of the Weddell Sea as the ocean moves seasonally from being fully ice covered to fully exposed. My part of the cruise was managing the deployment of our fishing nets to sample the meso-zooplankton community associated with the spring phytoplankton bloom.
Tell us about a skill or trait unique to you that you would like to share?
When I am not at sea or in the office I like to go hiking and enjoy the music and theatre that Cambridge and London have to offer.
The Modelling-Observations Working Group (WG) was established following the first BIOPOLE annual meeting to enhance the links between the modelling work and observational campaigns. Regular meetings between modellers at NOC and BAS had been taking place since the start of the project to ensure a synergy in modelling effort across the institutes. However, there was a clear need for an equivalent forum for the exchange of ideas and information between modellers and observationalists in the BIOPOLE community, hence the Modelling-Observations WG was formed. The WG now involves 19 members from all four work packages with representatives from NOC, BAS, CEH, and Exeter University. Meetings of the full WG currently take place approximately every 6 months, with more focussed monthly meetings targeting specific work packages or work streams.
The main aims of the WG are as follows:
Identify links between modelling efforts and encourage collaboration.
Discuss data needs of modelling efforts and identify sources (databases or field campaigns).
Identify data gaps to inform targeted data collection and fieldwork planning.
Identify opportunities for integrating modelling efforts with observational data to inform interpretation of key processes.
Contributing to the last of these aims, collaborative work involving NOC modellers and biological oceanographers is ongoing to understand the processes involved in generating regions of de-oxygenation in the Chukchi Sea, which were identified in the recent Chukchi Sea cruise. Such regions may impact the regional ecosystem and dependent fisheries and it is important to understand the underlying physical and biogeochemical processes.
One of the key outputs of the WG so far has been the development of new BIOPOLE infographics that capture the range of modelling activities being undertaken and how they link to the observational campaigns. Drawing on Jen Freer’s creativity and mastery of PowerPoint, two draft designs have been developed; the first is targeted at a general audience (Figure 1) whilst the second provides a more detailed picture of the modelling work and is suitable for a more specialist audience. The draft designs may be found on the BIOPOLE shared drive in the Modelling-Observations WG directory, and we would welcome feedback from the BIOPOLE community. The intention is to produce infographics that broadly follow the design of the BIOPOLE concept graphic. The designs will be professionally produced and will be available for use in posters, talks, and other promotional activities.
Figure 1: Draft infographic illustrating the range of modelling and observational activities being undertaken through BIOPOLE.
Back in 2022, I had the pleasure of attending a few poetry workshops at the British Antarctic Survey. These were hosted by the then poet-in-residence, Elizabeth Lewis-Williams. I soon learned that poetry was not only a great way to tell stories, communicate scientific research and inspire others. Poems can also help us to re-connect to our own research and the wonders of the ocean, something that is not always easy to do when the challenges it faces (and academic pressures we face) so often dominate our conversations.
With Elizabeth’s encouragement, I wrote a poem, A Tale of Light and Fear, which tries to capture some of that wonder. It is set in the Southern Ocean and tells the story of vertical migration and the drivers of this behaviour: Light (creating food-rich, sun-lit surface waters and a darker, deeper twilight zone) and Fear (of being seen by a predator). The daily rhythm of the sunrise and sunset is mirrored by the rise and fall of the migrators, yet in the polar regions there is an additional complexity: extreme seasonality. When the sun departs, many polar species of zooplankton spend the entire winter at depth, surviving off of energy stores they have accumulated in the summer.
Whether happening on a daily or seasonal scale, these movements by individual animals culminate in the transport of carbon to depths where it will remain locked up for centuries. Gaining a better understanding of this seasonal migration is one of BIOPOLE’s key objectives: can we better quantify this behaviour in the Southern Ocean? And what impact does it have on the global ocean carbon cycle?
The poem is now published in the latest edition of Antarktikos, an annual art-science publication founded by the artist and explorer Esther Kokmeijer and is focused on Antarctica. This second issue has the theme of “Light and Shadow” and is divided into three parts “Into the Cosmos”, “On the Continent” and “Into the Depths”. Continuing this collaboration with Elizabeth, and joining forces with JETZON, we are running a series of poetry workshops in early 2024. Developed for ECRs, we hope that these will be fun, friendly and inclusive spaces for more researchers to explore how poetry can be used both to reconnect with and to communicate science.
I’m an ecological modeller working with the Ecosystems team at British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. After a Masters in mathematics I applied for various environmental research roles, including modelling the fluid dynamics of wind turbine arrays, but eventually landed a marine science PhD in fishery statistics and modelling. This involved researching fishery-induced changes to the growth and maturation of commercially important species and developing a novel fish stock assessment model. My work has since focussed on fish food: plankton, particularly in the polar regions. I’ve developed a range of marine ecology models including an end-to-end ecosystem model, trait-based copepod model, and Lagrangian (particle-tracking) size-structured phytoplankton model. As part of my work with each of these, I devised numerical methods of tuning model parameters to produce statistically optimum fits to multiple data sets – making the models match observed reality. My favourite way of doing this is via Bayesian methods.
What do you do within BIOPOLE?
Within BIOPOLE, I’m part of WP2, working to create species distribution models to simulate how polar copepod’s horizontal and vertical distributions respond to environmental conditions. Of particular interest is a natural carbon storage process called the ‘lipid pump’, that is, the vertical transport of carbon during seasonal diapause when copepods overwinter in deep water. My models will simulate present-day vertical carbon transport associated with diapausing copepod species and, with reference to high-resolution climate forecasts courtesy of the PolarRES project, predict changes to the lipid pump under potential future climate storylines. My work so far has involved finding and collating as much polar copepod data as I can and using it to estimate parameters useful for other BIOPOLE modellers. Though a necessary first step, data wrangling isn’t what I most enjoy. I’m really looking forward to getting properly stuck in to the actual modelling, and have been contemplating adopting Bayesian methods for this work.
Tell us about a skill or trait unique to you that you would like to share?
I spend (too) much of my free time in summer juggling – six balls on a very good day. If you’re in Cambridge and the weather’s nice we can take some paraffin to the park and throw fire clubs, catching is optional. I also enjoy much merriment in the many fine old pubs Cambridgeshire has to offer.
On a sunny Saturday in October, BIOPOLE team member Jen Freer took part in the Big Biology Day at Hills Rd Sixth Form College in Cambridge. Along with others from the British Antarctic Survey, this exciting event provided a wonderful chance to engage with people of all ages, expertise, interests and backgrounds, as well as inspire young people to pursue careers in polar science and exploration.
Hosted by Cambridge Biologists, BBD has grown into one the largest free-to-attend festivals in the UK exclusively dedicated to the biological sciences. The event’s primary focus is to provide an up-close and personal experience with biology and for visitors from all different backgrounds to meet and interact with scientists.
We provided hands-on opportunities for visitors to learn about the incredible biodiversity of marine fauna in the Southern Ocean, from animals adapted to live around hydrothermal vents, to the mighty krill and the copepod crustaceans we are investigating for BIOPOLE. It was also great to share stories of our varied career paths, careers advice, the diverse activities we undertake as polar scientists, and the incredible experiences a career in polar science and operations can give you.
Thank you to the hard-working BAS team who volunteered their time, and to everyone who came out to talk to us. See you next year, Big Biology Day!
