Project: Contrasting Under-Ice and Open-Water Phytoplankton Blooms in the Chukchi Sea

Over the last several decades, Arctic Ocean ice cover has become substantially thinner and more prone to melting, extending the period of open water. Associated with the loss of sea ice has been an increase in light penetration and a dramatic rise in the productivity of phytoplankton. The PIs' primary objectives are to determine the spatial distribution of large under-ice phytoplankton blooms on the Chukchi Shelf and the physical mechanisms that control them. The project proposed herein will utilize new data obtained from both remote instrumentation (e.g. moorings and satellites) and an interdisciplinary ship-based field program to gain a better understanding of the physical/chemical conditions that favor under-ice bloom development as well as the physiological adaptations that allow phytoplankton to flourish beneath sea ice. Outreach and education components of this project include participation in Stanford's Summer Program for Professional Development for Science Teachers and Stanford's School of Earth Sciences high school internship program, a compilation of professionally written short stories in the website by WHOI group, and incorporation of results by CRREL.