Tag Archives: Arctic marine ecosystem

Uranium + Thorium

As last year, scientists from the GreenEdge project are in the little village of Qikiqtarjuaq. Dozens of experiments are carried out at the ice camp. Here is an account of a new series of activities to evaluate the amount of organic matter that is exported from the surface to the bottom of the ocean. 

In the first meters of the water column, enough light makes it through the ice to maintain an active primary production. This bloom is restricted to the first few meters of the water column and therefore, we may wonder how is it possible for organisms living at the bottom of the ocean to survive without food? Part of the answer resides in the amount of exported organic matter. Continue reading Uranium + Thorium

How sunlight makes it through the sea ice ?

Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that thrive in the ocean currents and are the base of the marine food chain. They are an ecosystem indicator and are therefore important to monitor. Phytoplankton, like terrestrial plants, mainly need two things to grow: nutrients (i.e. food) and light.

The GreenEdge project aims to improve our understanding about phytoplankton in the Ice covered Arctic Ocean.

Continue reading How sunlight makes it through the sea ice ?