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 ?
It was to study diatoms, the microalgae that dominate phytoplankton blooms, that the “silica and diatom” team came to Qikiqtarjuaq. To follow the evolution of the phytoplankton bloom, successive Green Edge teams focused their efforts on measuring how fast diatoms form silica shells (frustules) and the rate at which the frustules dissolve. Aude Leynaert was the first to reach the ice camp on May 5, 2016. A month later, Véronique Cornet-Barthaux and Morgane Gallinari took over! Justine Legras, Bernard Quéguiner and Brivaela Moriceau are the last to arrive at the camp!
Sampling water is a core activity at the ice camp. Since water has different properties depending on its depth, we study the entire water column from surface to bottom. Of course, one cannot dive with a bottle to a depth of 350m to sample deep water… Continue reading Water sampling: How and Why?
