Changing ice-cover regimes in a warmer climate: Effects on northern aquatic ecosystems

Changing ice-cover regimes in a warmer climate: Effects on northern aquatic ecosystems

Ice Sampling at Lake Almberga

Project summary

The goal of this project is to assess the effects of changing ice-cover regimes on aquatic primary production and carbon metabolism in northern freshwater and brackish water coastal ecosystems. Northern aquatic ecosystems are seasonally variable due to long, cold and dark ice-covered winters as well as 24-hour sunlight during summer. A warmer climate has effects on the extensions and magnitudes of snow- and ice-cover, with shorter duration of ice-cover expected for northern aquatic ecosystems. The ice-cover is important for carbon accumulation (CO₂ and CH₄), aquatic-atmosphere gas exchange and a number of biological processes. Hence, a changing ice-cover regime will have important implications for the function of northern aquatic ecosystems and for the role of these systems in the global carbon cycle.

Collaborators

Erin Hotchkiss, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Rolf Vinebrooke, University of Alberta

Funding

Formas
EcoChange

Project Dates

2017 - 2020

Quantifying cryogenic soil-mixing in the tundra soil and its role for the long-term carbon cycling in the arctic

Quantifying cryogenic soil-mixing in the tundra soil and its role for the long-term carbon cycling in the arctic

Project Summary

Tundra soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Tundra regions are warming rapidly due to the ongoing global warming, and there are concerns that this will reduce the accumulation rate of carbon in tundra soils. It is even feared, that from being a sink, these soils will instead become a significant source of carbon to the atmosphere, which will add to the currently increasing levels of greenhouse gases. In the discussion about changed carbon cycling due to changed climate in tundra regions, temperature dependent decomposition processes and changed plant productivity rates have been the main mechanisms studied although it has been suggested that soil frost processes, might be of more importance for the fat of the soil carbon pool than temperature dependent microbial processes. The objective with my research project is to test this hypothesis.

Collaborators

Marina Becher, Umeå University