Computer models of the ocean are used to tackle many different research questions in oceanography, especially where observations alone cannot unravel the complexities between the biological, chemical and physical interactions that occur below the surface. There is also one place that we absolutely cannot observe… the future! This is where models, in particular Earth System Models which capture the representations between land, atmosphere, ice and, of course, oceans, are a really important tool. They allow us to predict how the ocean might change in future, especially as climate change impacts many facets of the Earth system. Usually, these predictions are carried out until the end of the century (2100) under different climate change scenarios that describe our future society from ‘Sustainability’ with rapid emission reductions to ‘Fossil-fuelled development’ in which emissions continue to rise unchecked. The assessment of these scenarios are used to inform the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.
One of the BIOPOLE project aims is to understand how future changes in the movement of nutrients out of the Polar regions may impact the global carbon cycle and fish abundance, as nutrients are critical for phytoplankton growth which are at the base of the marine food chain. One way we are addressing this aim is by using a subset of these Earth system model projections that were ran out past 2100 all the way to 2300 to understand the longer-term impacts. Assessing over this timescale is important as due to the slow nature of ocean circulation some consequences will not begin to appear until after 2100. Even under the ‘Sustainability’ low emissions scenario we see changes appearing after 2100 in global ocean phytoplankton production that may already be unavoidable due to the carbon emissions we have already emitted. We are keen to continue our analysis of these model projections to improve our understanding of the connectivity between the polar regions and the global ocean. By understanding how the ocean responds under different climate scenarios we can assess the potential impacts to the ocean carbon cycle and future fish abundance, which may have wide ranging implications.
In early September, several BIOPOLE researchers attended the Challenger Conference 2024, held in the beautiful town of Oban and hosted by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). The Challenger Society for Marine Science is the main learned society for ocean research in the UK, and there is an associated biennial conference that brings together researchers around the country with a particular focus on community and early career researchers (ECRs).
This year, the Conference ran from Tuesday to Thursday, with additional side meetings and special interest group (SIG) activities on the Monday and Friday. The diversity of topic covered was fantastic from biogeochemistry to physics, deep sea environments, human impacts and marine management. BIOPOLE highlights included fantastic talks by ECRs Laura Taylor and Rhiannon Jones, as well as Povl Abrahamsen, Elena García-Martín, Emma Boland, Dave Munday, Alex Brearley, and Sophie Fielding. BIOPOLE research also featured on posters presented by Emma Young and Chelsey Baker. On the Friday, Kate Hendry hosted a meeting of the Challenger SIG Advances in Marine Biogeochemistry (AMBIO), and Dave Munday coordinated a meeting of the Ocean Modelling SIG (OMG).
Elena García-Martín
Complementing the scientific talks, several tours were organised, and some of us had the opportunity to have in our hand original volumes of The Voyage of HMS Challenger report, curated in SAMS library. The marine deposit drawings from the 19th century were fantastic, with such details that could have been photographs of sediments as seen under microscopes. There was an official thanks at the Conference dinner to BIOPOLE’s Mike Meredith, who stepped down as Challenger President after a fantastic two-year term. The dinner was followed by the main high point of the event, the Conference ceilidh, during which many of these eminent scientists tested out their dancing skills on the dance floor!
This September, Nadine Johnston, Aidan Hunter, and Jen Freer (BIOPOLE Members, BAS) set off for Copenhagen to attend the 2nd European Polar Science Week 2024 conference, jointly organised by the European Commission (Directorate General for Research and Innovation) and the European Space Agency. The aim of this conference was for key scientists and stakeholders of polar science to discuss major challenges and opportunities, promote networking and collaboration across projects and activities advancing the EC-ESA Polar research cooperation, and to provide policy recommendations (particularly areas for future research that could be funded by the EC-ESA). We participated in a BIOPOLE-led session dedicated to our favourite zooplankton – copepods! The session was entitled “Polar zooplankton, the seasonal lipid pump and carbon sequestration”.
We were so pleased to be able to run this session, as it brought together international researchers linked with BIOPOLE (including our BIOPOLE Science Partner PolarRES) to synthesise our current understanding of the lipid pump in both the Arctic and Antarctic.
Firstly, we heard about the lipid pump in the Southern Ocean from Guang Yang (Chinese Academy of Science) and Aidan Hunter (BIOPOLE and PolarRES scientist, BAS) who are using complementary methods to estimate current and future magnitudes of this pump by a range of Southern Ocean taxa including copepods, krill, and salps. Moving to the northern hemisphere, Sigrun Jonasdottir (DTU Denmark, BIOPOLE PAB member) presented results from EU funded project ECO-TIP which looked at the effect of phytoplankton community on copepod lipid storage, accumulation, and composition. Finally, Andre Visser (DTU Denmark) drew on best available data to provide a global estimate of carbon sequestered via the seasonal lipid pump and highlighted the key uncertainties and data gaps that emerged. He also introduced the concept that populations of marine species involved in biological carbon pumps are maintaining the vast pools of “legacy carbon” that have been laid down by previous marine biological generations. Human activities may push these reservoirs out of balance, emitting legacy carbon back into the atmosphere.
Guang Yang presents his work
Aidan Hunter presents his work
Sigrun Jonasdottir presents her work
Nadine Johnston, Geraint Tarling (BIOPOLE PI), and Andrew Meijers (BIOPOLE Member, BAS) also co-convened a session with a range of international collaborators, chaired by Stefanie Arndt and Alexander Haumann (AWI): ‘Taking the Pulse of the Southern Ocean: an Internationally Coordinated, Circumpolar, and Year-Round Mission – Antarctica InSync’. Nadine Johnston (and co-authors Geraint Tarling and Hauke Flores, BIOPOLE Science Partner representing WOBEC) delivered a presentation on how Antarctica InSync could address the big questions in Southern Ocean ecology from the coast to the deep ocean and the next steps required to achieve this. In this presentation we highlighted the work that BIOPOLE (and our PAB member Sigrun Jonasdottir and Science Partners PolarRES and WOBEC, and also Andre Visser and Guang Yang) are already doing to address these questions. This was complemented preceding presentations on Southern Ocean heat, freshwater, and carbon budgets – delivered by Andrew Meijers (BAS) and Marcel du Plessis (University of Gothenburg), sea ice decline – Petra Heil (UTAS), and ice shelves and coastal impacts – Tore Hatterman (Norske Polarinstitutt). Recurring themes through the presentations included the need for standardised observations (like our BIOPOLE Cookbook!), greater collaboration between observationists and modellers (like our BIOPOLE Modelling and Observations Working Group!), and appropriate funding to make it a success!
Alex Haumann introducing speakers for the session
After busy sessions and panel discussions, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our speakers (and fellow PolarRES and OCEAN:ICE scientists) in the glorious weather that graced our entire visit. However, our work did not end there as session summaries, including key messages and recommendations, will be included in a conference report that will be published and circulated to the polar research community to guide the EC-ESA’s future funding calls. We hope both the session and the report will raise awareness of the importance of copepods and the lipid pump and the wider work of BIOPOLE and our Science Partners in developing much needed climate models, observation and process studies to examine polar processes in the Earth System to a broad community of polar researchers.
Nyhavn in the sunshine, Copenhagen
Thanks to everyone who attended our session, and a special thanks to our invited speakers for sharing their research and enthusiasm on this important topic.
The week was packed with a diverse programme of plenary lectures, mini-symposia, parallel sessions, panel discussions, posters, and various socialising events (including an extra special end of conference party that got EVERYONE dancing).
Along with presenting some work on Antarctic krill and participating in an outreach talk that highlighted my involvement in science-poetry workshops, I was able to represent and raise the profile of BIOPOLE at several sessions. First, in the absence of Nadine Johnston I was invited to speak at the opening joint SCAR/COMNAP mini-symposium on “A Promising Future for Antarctic Research: Facilitation of circumpolar initiatives through science and science support partnerships”. At this, I gave an overview of the structure, success, and future plans of the well-established programme ICED (Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean) which is a science partner of BIOPOLE. BIOPOLE featured as a key partner of ICED, especially in their involvement for 5th International Polar Year and the UN Decade of Ocean Science’s Southern Ocean Task Force (which has developed a Southern Ocean Action Plan and SCARS hosting of the UN Decade Collaborative Centre for the Southern Ocean). Secondly, I presented a poster on some of BIOPOLE WP2 tasks, led by Aidan Hunter (and BIOPOLE authors Nadine Johnston, Geraint Tarling, Kathryn Cook and Dan Mayor), in collating historical records of Southern Ocean copepods to better understand their role in the seasonal lipid pump. This poster started up some engaging conversations with other archivists and introduced the lipid pump to many for the first time.
Left: Jen speaking at the opening SCAR/COMNAP mini-symposium Right: The speakers and panellists at the SCAR/COMNAP mini-symposium
Jen with the BIOPOLE poster
As well as delivering a talk to a packed ballroom of delegates, a personal highlight was listening to the emotive keynote talk of Prof. Meredith Nash, on “The reckoning: how #metooAntarctica is changing fieldwork”. I thank the organisers for giving this topic the space it deserves, and for the huge commitment to equality and diversity that was evidenced throughout the conference (see article by Huw and Pilvi – EDI at the SCAR Open Science Conference 2024 – Biopole).
Thanks to the local organising committee for making this such a fantastic event, and to all the delegates and speakers for inspiring interactions and discussions.
Team UKCEH rendezvoused in the metropolis that is Alta airport before picking up their trusty vehicle steads and heading out to the soon to be named “cabin lab”, near Utsjoki in Finland. Despite team 1 undergoing a rigorous potato search at the border (fortunately potatoes were safely stashed in innocent looking team 2’s vehicle), we made it to our home for the next 10 days. Turns out the side cabin to our Airbnb cabin made an excellent little lab with the sauna providing the perfect tap to get our water purification system going.
Not the traditional use of a Finnish sauna, but “cabin lab” worked a treat
With the lab set up complete, operation science began, and we spent the next days driving up and down the river Tana taking water samples, greenhouse gas samples, running experiments, and Isabelle and Alex even managed to find some sediment amongst the sand and rocks. Never had we crossed borders so many times; fortunately the potato scare seemed to have passed and we were subject to no further potato searches. The basket ladies, Isabelle and Alex, got their basket experiments out and incubating away for a few days at some spots in the river and in Tanafjord, whilst the rest of the team headed out with friendly fisherman Sverre to sample the salinity gradients at the mouth of the Tana. Sverre didn’t bat an eyelid as drove around in circles hunting the gradient down, though suspect he was thinking “crazy British scientists”.
Field team treated to glorious weather for the boat sampling work
Granted an extra day to science with the news the cargo wouldn’t be picked up till later, we managed to grab some extra sites and rock various stylish waders to get some discharge measurements. A successful week, overseen by several curious reindeers visiting cabin lab to check out the work of BIOPOLE.
In a picture on the left:
Friendly Maurice the reindeer checking out the tasty grass next to cabin lab.
With boxes of samples to take back, and Alanna’s efficient packing, we managed to get the remaining cargo on one palette, leaving one palette spare…and as conscientious citizens not wanting to litter the Airbnb place, we decided it would make excellent fuel to finally be able to put the sauna to its proper use and have a fire in the firepit. Perfect way to finish up the week’s work before starting the long journey’s home with fingers crossed the samples arrive at the other end.
The KANG-GLAC expedition set out aboard RRS Sir David Attenborough (SDA) to East Greenland in July 2024 to study processes around marine terminating glaciers. The multidisciplinary scientific team contained experts in marine sediments, glaciology and geology alongside the more ocean-based sciences of physical and biological oceanography and biogeochemistry. Sampling for BIOPOLE was also allocated time to consider further aspects of nutrient dynamics and ecosystems processes. An ocean-ecosystems team, led by Clara Manno, and including Gabi Stowasser, Flo Atherden, Alena Sakovich, Luisa Patrolecco and Geraint Tarling used a combination series of nets, CTDs and floating sediment traps to sample physical, chemical and biological environment. Physical oceanographic measurements, including collection of isotopic tracer samples (e.g. O18), were carried out by Povl Abrahamsen and Bryony Freer while Rhiannon Jones sampled ocean sediments. There was also a land team collecting mud and lake samples around glacial margins, led by Dave Roberts, alongside Iain Rudkin, Jonjo Knott, Tim Lane, Blair Fyffe and Lev Tarasov. Both the ocean and land sampling was focussed around the Kangerlussuaq system, which is a major outflow of one of the largest icecaps in Greenland and one that is experiencing one of the greatest rates of ice loss.
Land-based sampling at glacial margins
The expedition was particularly unique in making use of the full capability of the SDA to manoeuvre scientists around this unique polar environment. As well as sampling from the SDA itself, a small but highly scientifically equipped launch was also used to sample right up to the edge of marine terminating glaciers. The land-based team used a helicopter, chartered from Air Greenland, to access the glacial margin environments. The use of aerial drones was also invaluable in obtaining a wider spatial context in which sampling efforts could be placed. A mooring containing physical and biogeochemical instrumentation, was sited within the outflow of the Kangerlussuaq system, to be retrieved in 12 months time so as to provide seasonal information.
RRS Sir David Attenborough sampling close to a marine terminating glacier in an East Greenland fjord during the KANG-GLAC expedition
The small launch Erebus returning from sampling at a glacial front
Clara Manno said “this was a highly successful cruise from which the data and samples will provide a number of insights into how marine terminating glaciers influence ocean biogeochemistry and ecosystems”.
The KANG-GLAC Bio team (left to right): Gabi Stowasser, Geraint Tarling, Luisa Patrolecco, Flo Atherden, Clara Manno and Alena Sakovich
The 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Open Science Conference was held in August 2024 in Pucón, Chile. Around 1,500 international scientists, educators, and policy makers engaged in a week of talks, meetings, and workshops. EDI topics were well represented, including the first ever EDI themed plenary in the history of the OSC, parallel sessions, a workshop, and the newly formed ‘SCAR EDI Action Group’ business meeting. The UK was represented by members of the Diversity in UK Polar Science steering committee, including members of BIOPOLE.
The theme of the EDI session “Is Antarctic science ready to help tackle urgent global issues? Perspectives on strengthening equitable science communities” included talks on historic discrimination against women in Antarctic science, the values of present day national and international programmes, the perspectives of early career researchers and how to widen participation in polar science. Discussions included the structural problems facing the international community including language barriers and socioeconomic and cultural differences. The workshop “Synergistic approach to addressing DEI issues; learning from different contextual initiatives” gave participants a chance to describe how these issues impact current and emerging polar researchers. A recurrent theme across the conference was how western-centric most EDI (and other) activities are and how this needs addressing.
The highlight of the entire conference for many was the final plenary talk by Professor Meredith Nash “The reckoning: how #MeTooAntarctica is changing fieldwork”. This lecture, supported by the SCAR EDI Action Group, traced the conditions that gave rise to #MeTooAntarctica and Meredith’s experiences working with women around the world involved in the movement, often at significant personal cost. This powerful talk, delivered for 45 minutes without slides, captivated the entire audience with a thought provoking and often shocking description of a culture of sexual harassment within Australian polar science. Meredith ended with leading practice recommendations for National Antarctic Programs to productively seize the opportunity for robust prevention and response measures that underpin safe and respectful fieldwork environments. The talk received a standing ovation and sparked important and ongoing conversations within the international audience.
The full talk can be viewed below but please be aware that it contains themes that could be upsetting.
Kate Hendry (BAS) , Nathan Callaghan (UKCEH) and project partner Katie Howe (Dauphin Island Sea Lab) headed (back) to Ny-Ålesund in mid-July 2024 for the second instalment of the BIOPOLE Svalbard field campaign, joint with fieldwork for Kate’s NERC Pushing the Frontiers grant Silicon Cycling in Glaciated Environments (SiCLING) .
The overall aim of the BIOPOLE Svalbard campaign was to assess the flux of organic and inorganic nutrients into Kongsfjorden, the glaciated fjord near Ny-Ålesund. In 2023, the BIOPOLE Arctic team sampled a range of glacial and non-glacial rivers and fjord waters, and these samples have been analysed for a whole suite of nutrients, organic components and other elements.
Following last year’s successes, this year the BIOPOLE team wanted to focus on measuring the water flux from the different catchments. For this, Nathan used a method called ‘salt gauging’ (with Kate and Katie watching out for polar bears). Salt gauging involves placing conductivity loggers downstream, before adding a ‘spike’ of salt solution to a river upstream: the loggers can detect the increase in saltiness and their response can be used to determine the water flow rate. We were able to cover all the rivers that were analysed last year, with the exception of those that had dried up.
For the SiCLING project, the team collected river and fjord waters and marine sediments for geochemical analyses, to investigate the interaction between silicon and other nutrients and trace metals in glaciated environments. The samples will be shipped back to the UK and USA for analysis. In addition to using the UK boat for sampling waters, the team were also able to work on the King’s Bay R/V Teisten on two days to sample sediments from the fjord floor.
The BIOPOLE/SiCLING team would like to thank Paul Samways and Iain Rudkin (station managers at the UK NERC Arctic Station), the captains of the R/V Teisten, James Bradley, Bill Orsi, and Juan-Carlos Trejos for their help, as well as everyone from King’s Bay for all their support.
Amongst 1500 other delegates from around the world, Jen Freer (BIOPOLE Project Member, BAS), Amy Swiggs (BIOPOLE Project Member, CPOM) and Nadine Johnston (BIOPOLE Project Member, BAS), were lucky enough to be selected to attend and present at the first UN Ocean Decade Conference held in April 2024 in sunny Barcelona. The vision of the UN Ocean Decade is to generate “the science we need for the ocean we want”. The aims of this conference were to bring the global Ocean Decade community together, to celebrate and take stock of progress, and set joint priorities for the future. As an official Decade Action, we were there to showcase BIOPOLE’s research efforts and highlight how our science aligns with many of the Decade’s priorities and recommendations.
We were set to work from day 1 – as soon as we passed security, found our way around the 4-floor venue and located the coffee, Amy set up her fantastic BIOPOLE poster which attracted plenty of attention throughout the week. Nadine then presented work on ICED (a BIOPOLE Strategic Partner) and participated in a panel discussion in an on-site Satellite Event ‘A decade of international action in the polar oceans. Others on this esteemed panel included Anton Van de Putte (BIOPOLE Strategic Partner, ULB), as well as Antje Boetius (director, AWI), Alfredo Giron (World Economic Forum), and Salome Mormentyn (Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Polar Initiative), chaired by Stephanie Arndt (AWI) and Renuka Badhe (BIOPOLE Strategic Partner, European Polar Board). This set of talks led to a fascinating discussion around the future of polar research, the ongoing need for standardised high-quality data, and even greater collaboration between nations and disciplines such as arts and humanities, where the work of BIOPOLE was also highlighted as an excellent example.
A newly drafted set of white papers detailing how to succeed in achieving each of the Decade’s 10 challenges were key talking points of the conference. To round off day 1, Jen presented a quick-fire talk as part of a parallel session dedicated to Challenge 2: protect and restore marine ecosystems and biodiversity. It was fantastic to remind the audience of the importance of the polar regions and to ensure their representation in the Challenge 2 ambitions alongside the coastal and coral reef environments.
There were more interesting talks and policy discussions on day 2 of the conference, including on developing a sustainable and resilient ocean economy, and solutions for coastal resilience. There was also time later in the afternoon to see more of sunny Barcelona and enjoy some delicious Catalan cuisine.
On the final day of the conference, we all helped to represent JETZON (the Decade Programme which BIOPOLE sits within) at the “Deepening the Decade” booth – one of many stalls within the wonderful banquet hall. This stall was organised by the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) and arguably had the most beautiful artwork to attract passers-by! Our job was to engage with delegates about the deep ocean, particularly talking about how projects such as BIOPOLE and JETZON are tackling issues in deep sea science and are leading in developments to overcome them (e.g. observing and modelling nutrients, zooplankton and carbon transport to deep waters). We had many interesting and insightful discussions with other conference members about the importance of these key climate processes. We also test ran the BIOPOLE animation led by Clara Manno (BIOPOLE Project Member, BAS).
The plenary talks from each day (including those from various Heads of State and UN special envoy for the Oceans Ambassador Peter Thomson) can be viewed again here and a short highlights video here. The main outcome of this event was the Barcelona Statement which identifies priority areas for action for the Ocean Decade in the coming years. The conference was hugely successful and a wonderful way of showcasing the fantastic work of BIOPOLE to the wider scientific community and policymakers. We enjoyed the opportunity to experience the interaction of science and policy and discuss the importance of science and communication in achieving these outcomes. Thank you to BIOPOLE for encouraging and giving ECRs the opportunity to attend such an important event.
The workshop was kindly hosted by Philip and held under the auspices of the BIOPOLE East-West Antarctic Forum, which fosters greater international collaboration across the Southern Ocean with partners, institutes, and initiatives with similar research objectives.
Many of the workshop participants from BIOPOLE and ACEAS in the gardens of CSIROParticipants enjoying the workshop dinner and drinks – a fantastic BBQ enjoyed in the bar and on the terrace of IMAS where we recruited our youngest BIOPOLE ECR to date!
The workshop gathered BIOPOLE Community members (including Aidan Hunter, and contributions from Angus Atkinson, Programme Advisory Board member) and around 30 ACEAS researchers to consider similarities and differences between the Scotia-Weddell Sea and East Antarctic regions (zones and provinces, processes) and different approaches to understanding their ecology, biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling, and progressing modelling and observations in the regions.
The workshop also explored future opportunities for collaborations including the UN Decade of the Ocean, IPY etc.) and outputs are in preparation. A huge thanks to Philip, Nicole Hill, Elizabeth Shadwick, and the rest of the ACEAS participants for their incredible hospitality and contributions. Aside from the impressive presentations and volume of science discussions we managed to get through in two days, an additional highlight was the amazing workshop dinner served on the balcony of IMAS overlooking Sullivans Cove and Kunanyi/Mt Wellington on a gloriously sunny evening!
