DTU Aqua has received a grant of DKK 5.6 million from The Danish Centre for Marine Research to conduct comprehensive climate change surveys in Greenland with Denmarks largest marine research vessel Dana.
Headed by DTU Aqua, a unique team of international scientists are currently in Greenland to conduct one of the most comprehensive climate change surveys in recent Danish marine research history.
The course is set when DTU’s marine research vessel, Dana, on Sunday leaves Nuuk harbour to study how climate change affects the vulnerable food chains in Greenland’s waters.
Cold food webs in warm water
Climate change is particularly evident in the Arctic regions, and intensive research is being carried out to identify how temperature increases, ice melting and changed oceanography affects marine organisms.
Among others, Greenland Climate Research Centre in Nuuk has become actively involved, and a number of projects under this centre have received a grant of DKK 5.6 million from the Danish Centre for Marine Research (DCH) to carry out a comprehensive field study from DTU’s marine research vessel Dana off Nuuk and in the mouth of Nuup Kangerlua.
"This expedition to Greenland is a very important initiative," says an excited cheif scientist, Professor Torkel Gissel Nielsen of DTU Aqua. "The large grant from DCH has enabled us to conduct three weeks of intense research into the marine mechanisms of Arctic food chains." And he continues:
"We have put together a team of 22 specialised scientists from Denmark, Greenland, Spain, Germany and the USA. With this team, we will be able to examine all parts of the interaction between the physical condition of the ocean and its organisms – from the smallest bacteria and up to fry and large crustaceans."
The Greenland Expedition 2010
Led by Professor Torkel Gissel Nielsen of DTU Aqua, the Greenland expedition will take place from 6 to 23 June 2010. The comprehensive field studies will be carried out by a unique and internationally group of scientists from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (Greenland), Aarhus University (Denmark), Institute of Marine Sciences (Spain), University of Bremen (Germany), University of Alaska Fairbanks (US) and Virginia Institute of Marine Science (US).
Over a course of three weeks, the scientists will be working intensively to find all the pieces to the puzzle of the interaction between the waters and the plankton food web from Fyllas Bank through the mouth of Nuup Kangerlua to the mouth of the Icecap at the bottom of the fiord (see Figure 1). The scientists will be looking at the food chain based on the smallest of organisms, plankton (see Figure 2). When the climate affects the basic parts of the food chain, the larger animals on which the Greenland population relies will be impacted as well.
"With the significant temperature increases experienced over the past decade, the conditions for marine organisms are affected, both due to the actual temperature increases, but also due to a number of resulting effects such as less sea ice and increased fresh water melting. We will examine how these changes will impact the environment and production conditions on which a significant part of the Greenland economy is based," says Torkel Gissel Nielsen.
The impact of climate change will be studied
During the expedition, the scientists will, among other things, study which organisms can be found in the same areas, their rate of growth their interaction. All results will contribute to models of the impact of climate change on the marine environment. The results will also form the basis for a comparison with previous conditions as well as for planning future studies of the climatic influence on the composition and function of Arctic and sub-Arctic ecosystems.
A changing climate – the project continues
In the coming years, the Greenland expedition and the joint venture between DTU Aqua and Greenland Climate Research Centre will be followed up by the large EU project, EUROBASIN. From 2011, this project will add more focus on the climatic impact on marine food chains. The project is a joint venture between many of the leading research institutions in Europe and the research studies will focus on the entire northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, including western Greenland.
Further information:
Expedition leader Torkel Gissel Nielsen, DTU Aqua, can be contacted on tel. +45 25 58 06 57 until 6 June 2010.
After this date, you can contact Torkel Gissel Nielsen on the marine research vessel Dana on tel. Sat B 00871321938420 or 00 88 16 31 45 04 53
You can keep up with the Greenland expedition at http://www.aqua.dtu.dk/Greenland where the scientists during the expedition will tell about their research and results while on Dana.
DTU Aqua is involved in many of the activities the Greenland Climate Research Centre, including three research projects.
Link to Greenland Climate Research Centre: http://www.natur.gl/index.php?id=663