An expedition led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) has provided new evidence of the rise in temperature and a water desalination of the Arctic Ocean, as a consequence of ‘Atlantification’. This is a phenomenon that “is changing marine ecosystems and the distribution of species in the Arctic,” explains ICTA-UAB oceanographer and chief scientist of the campaign, Patrizia Ziveri.
‘Atlantification’ is a process that involves the progressive invasion of Atlantic waters in the Arctic Ocean, as a consequence of the increase in glacial melting due to climate change. This phenomenon modifies primary and secondary productivity, which opens the doors for species from more temperate latitudes to expand their habitat northwards. This generates greater competition between species for food and increases predation on Arctic species.
The project is based on the fact that there is evidence that the loss of marine biodiversity represents one of the most serious threats for the oceans. However, most of the knowledge comes only from macrogroups of large species and animals.
Anthropogenic climate change and environmental degradation are generating alarming effectssuch as warming, acidification, stratification and deoxygenation of the oceans, which affect both small plankton and fish. Although humanity has a clear dependence on the oceansthe consequences on biodiversity that these changes will produce are not yet fully understood, especially in terms of food webs.
Expedition details
The international expedition Global Biodiversity of Marine Planktonic Calcifiers (BIOCAL) collected samples to study changes in marine biodiversity through el analysis of planktonic calcifying organismswhich contribute to regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and seawater chemistry. These organisms form calcium carbonate shells and are especially sensitive to ocean acidification and climate change.
During the past months of August and September, the oceanographic research vessel Sarmiento of Gamboa sailed from Vigo to Reykjavikpassing through the archipelagos of the Azores (subtropical zone) and Svalbard (polar zone) to carry out sampling in the North Atlantic Ocean and the South Arctic. During the expedition, they collected water and sediment samples and experiments were done to evaluate marine biodiversity and biogeography and their role in the carbon cycle, with special attention to calcifying plankton.
Carrying out research in regions at different latitudes, from the warmest waters of the Atlantic to the cold waters of the Arctic, allowed the scientific team gather evidence of the impact of ‘Atlantification’ in the physicochemical characteristics of water and in pelagic ecosystems.
In this expedition participated a multidisciplinary scientific team formed by experts in oceanography, biology, geology and environmental and social sciences from several countries, from ICTA-UAB, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the University of Oxford and Rowan University.
The research group Marine and Environmental Biogeosciences (MERS), of ICTA-UAB, organized and directed this campaign with Patrizia Ziveri, Michaël Grelaud, Stéphanie Birnstiel, Arturo Lucas, Thais Peixoto Macedo, Athina Kekelou and Fernando Ruiz, who are members of MERS, and with Meryem Upson, visiting student at Utrecht University.
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