Session Chair: Maud van Soest, Louise Borthwick, Rahul Dey
Session Coordinators: Charlie Hewitt, Megan Marjan, Anna Burdenski, Tegan Forward
Time: 12 May from 10:30 - 12:30 GMT
-
10:30 - 10:35 GMT: Introduction
-
10:35 - 10:50 GMT: Social Media in Polar Research – Is TikTok the Next Big Thing?
Presenter: Mayleen Schlund
Institution: Alfred-Wegener-Institute (AWI)
Type: Oral Presentation
Category: Collaboration
Abstract: Social media platforms offer a creative and immediate way to engage with various interested groups. While individual scientists are increasingly present on Twitter to promote scientific findings and receive feedback from their followers, outreach and communication in science and research is carried out primarily by institutional media departments or project offices. To promote information and share outcomes of the international Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP), the YOPP International Coordination Office is engaging with their community consisting of researchers and forecasters in the field of Arctic and Antarctic weather and sea-ice predictions, as well as of stakeholders from sectors such as e.g, logistics and operations, tourism, or shipping. In addition to the online presence at www.polarprediction.net, the PolarPredictNews newsletter, or the podcast “The IcePod”, our social media channels add to the communication tools to tell polar prediction success stories, introduce scientists and share their activities, or engage the community via the vibrant set of tools social media has to offer. Social media presence is, however, also a matter of capacity; coming up with a successful tweet is often more than spending five minutes during lunch break. Social media campaigns need to be well planned, and the interests of the target group of followers have to be understood. As followers differ in different platforms in age and motivation to use social media, adjusting content to the respective target group is crucial. A long-term transformation of target groups on each platform needs also be taken into account – while Instagram had been opened as a platform to mainly share photos, it eventually evolved to a vivid platform to provide information and to get into dialogue. Is it therefore only a question of time when the research community follows the trend moving to the next platform? And: does @polarprediction eventually need a TikTok account?
-
10:50 - 11:05 GMT: Science and Education of the Polar Regions: the Portuguese effort to engage scientists and educators during the COVID-19 pandemic
Presenter: Hugo Guímaro; Joana Fragão
Institution: University of Coimbra, MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Coimbra, Portugal; APECS Portugal
Type: Oral Presentation
Category: Collaboration
Abstract: Polar science communication, through education and outreach activities, has been playing a key role in increasing awareness of the general public on the importance of Polar Regions and the Cryosphere, which are critical for the well-being of human populations across the planet. For two decades, Portugal has been highly engaged in communicating polar science on urgent global issues, with considerable support of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists of Portugal (APECS Portugal) and Polar Educators International (PEI), endorsed by the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR). In the last 8 years, polar scientists and educators have carried out numerous research and educational activities, including the International Polar Weeks, Workshops APECS Portugal on Hot Science topics, presentations at and presence in science fairs, virtual meetings with polar scientists, and the blog “Science in the Clear”. In total, these educational activities have involved more than 100,000 students, 300 schools, 2,000 educators and 150 polar scientists from more than 20 countries. These activities are linked to polar organizations, such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, APECS International and PEI. During the COVID-19 pandemic, polar early career scientists (APECS Portugal) have successfully adapted to this challenge, being able to improve the outreach range of its activities. Here we provide evidence of the science, education and outreach activities carried out by early career scientists during the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss how these activities were successful, providing a valuable path in the future.
-
11:05 - 11:20 GMT: Multi-model ensemble mean of global climate models fails to reproduce early twentieth century Arctic warming
Presenter: Mikhail Latonin
Institution: Nansen International Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre; Saint Petersburg State University
Type: Oral presentation
Category: Arctic
Abstract: The Arctic climate system is very sensitive to external perturbations, which results in more rapid surface air temperature (SAT) changes in the Arctic compared to lower latitudes. This study aims at assessing the performance of global climate models from the phases 5 and 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5 and CMIP6) in reproducing the periods of Arctic warming and cooling known from the observations. Two experiments are considered for 9 CMIP5 models, and one experiment is used for the 108 ensemble members from 32 CMIP6 models. The ensemble mean of unforced Arctic amplification variability in the CMIP5 pre-industrial control experiment suggests a crucial role of external forcings in the present Arctic amplification. The ensemble mean of the same models in the historical experiment shows a century-long upward trend and clearly reproduces the present-day Arctic amplification. However, there is no consistent response of increasing Arctic amplification in the early twentieth century warming period during the 1920s–1940s in the CMIP5 models. This indicates the 1920s–1940s Arctic warming was unlikely to happen due to external forcings. Using the large CMIP6 ensemble in the historical experiment we show that the multi-model ensemble mean in the new generation of high-resolution CMIP6 models does not reproduce that warming either, thus posing questions how well the models capture internal climate variability and distinguish it from natural and anthropogenic forcings. This issue ultimately affects the reliability of future Arctic climate projections.
-
11:20 - 11:35 GMT: From Field Work to Remote Sensing: Detecting Change to Heritage on Qikiqtaruk, Yukon
Presenter: Katelyn O'Keefe
Institution: University of Calgary
Type: Oral Presentation
Category: Arctic
Abstract: The heritage features on Qikiqtaruk (formerly known as Herschel Island), Yukon, represent a long period of occupation, from 800 years ago to the present. Pauline Cove, the island's most culturally significant area, has the most heritage features. These features include Inuvialuit sod houses and historic buildings associated with the whaling period, fur trade, missionaries, and the RCMP. Unfortunately, coastal erosion, inland flooding, and modern human activities (research activities and polar tourism) are putting these features at risk. This talk will discuss the project's original research goals and the trajectory of the research since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the excavation of two at-risk sod house features was scheduled. With travel bans in place and many logistical difficulties, the research goals pivoted, becoming focused on using the UAV (i.e., drone) imagery we captured in 2019. This imagery has been compared to 2017 imagery taken by another research group. Two different change-detection methods were used to determine and document changes to the heritage features and the landscape between 2017 and 2019. The low-cost, streamlined procedures developed here can be applied to develop a monitoring strategy for heritage at Pauline Cove and are applicable to other circumpolar heritage sites.
-
11:35 - 11:50 GMT: Uncovering molecular mechanisms of temperature sensation in notothenioid fishes
Presenter: Julia York
Institution: University of Texas at Austin
Type: Oral presentation
Category: Antarctic
Abstract: Fluctuations in the thermal environment affect all physiological processes and therefore it is critical that organisms properly sense and respond to thermal stimuli. The hypothesized molecular mechanism of temperature sensation in vertebrates is a family of ion channels called transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. Our understanding of how TRP channels evolve to provide ecologically-relevant information for organisms in diverse thermal environments is limited to a few species that live in temperate regions. Notothenioid fishes are the primary fish fauna of the Southern Ocean, both in terms of biomass and species diversity. They have evolved to live below or near the freezing point of water. Given their frigid evolutionary history, we conducted a comprehensive, unbiased survey of TRP channels in notothenioid fishes. Initially, we used existing transcriptomic and genomic data to determine that notothenioids have about 28 TRP channel genes, which is typical for teleosts. We found a few duplications, including TRPA1b, a cold-sensor in mammals which has duplicated at least twice independently in Antarctic notothenioids. We then generated our own transcriptome of the sensory neurons in Harpagifer antarcticus, and found increased expression relative to the whole brain of TRPML2, TRPM1b, TRPV1a, TRPM4, and TRPM7. Further, we tested all of the TRP channel transcripts for signatures of increased positive selection and found evidence of significantly intensified selection in TRPA1b, TRPM4, TRPM7, and TRPV1a. Given these data, these four channels are our top candidates for thermosensation in Antarctic fishes. To investigate these channels further, we tested for individual amino acid sites under selection. We found several sites under significant diversifying selection in Antarctic notothenioids in each channel. Several of these sites have been previously found to modulate temperature threshold and are good candidates for further investigation.
-
11:50 - 12:05 GMT: Expedition instead of conferences - My pandemic-related way to build a network
Presenter: Linda Thielke
Institution: Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen
Type: Oral presentation
Category: Arctic
Abstract: I started my PhD in autumn 2019. After getting started, I was ready to present my first results and build a network at my first conference ever. It was important to me because I am rather new to my research field. Then the pandemic came: the conference still happened, but only online. I couldn’t meet new people in person and it was more difficult to connect to possible collaborators. My work is based on data from the MOSAiC expedition. Since I started my PhD during the MOSAiC expedition period there were no plans for me to join the expedition. Nevertheless, I became a backup person during the starting phase of my PhD - you never know. Then the pandemic made the impossible possible. The whole expedition planning had to adapt to the new situation and I came in for a place in the last leg of the expedition. There I met many great scientists I could learn from. And my network grew by about 60 scientists. This network is crucial for my work since no in-person meetings seem to happen soon and I’m already in the middle of my 2nd year. I am very grateful for this opportunity the pandemic opened up. I can now address my questions more easily and get involved in different projects. It was not only a good opportunity to build a network but also to carry out different kinds of measurements and learn a lot about other research fields.
Poster Q + A 1: 12:05 - 12:30 GMT
-
Marine sediment cores and sub-bottom profiles to constrain glacial erosion rates, Eqi Bay, West-Greenland
Presenter: Fien De Doncker
Institution: University of Lausanne (Institute of Earth Surface Processes)
Type: Poster
Category: Arctic
Abstract: Sediments produced by erosion play a fundamental role in Earth systems through their influence on the global carbon cycle and marine and freshwater ecosystems. This is particularly pronounced in Arctic regions. In that context, Greenland alone may account for 8% of the global sediment export to oceans, and this number is likely to increase due to climate warming. To forecast how sediment delivery of the Greenland Ice Sheet will change in the future due to climate change, we need to understand and quantify the impact controlling variables on both glacial erosion rates as well as subglacial sediment transport. In the absence of widespread measurements, we collected marine sediment cores and subbottom profiles in Eqi Bay, West-Greenland. Our goal is to construct time series of sediment volumes: from sediment cores, we obtain an age-depth relationship and the sub-bottom profiles can be extrapolated to obtain sediment volumes. Furthermore, with fingerprint analyses performed on slices of the cores, we can identify the provenance of the sediments, thereby enabling to investigate the spatial relationship with controlling variables such as meltwater discharge and ice sliding velocities. Although we faced multiple challenges (COVID-19 restrictions and linked with this, last minute decisions in gear acquisition, difficulties finding a boat and organizing a field trip with a fairly unexperienced team), we successfully collected 39 sediment cores in the bay that will be analyzed once lab access is again permitted. Moreover, this expedition also served as a common ground for the PolARTS project, a collaboration between artists and scientists, centered around the changing image of the Arctic.
APECS International Online Conference 2021_Poster presentation - Fien De Doncker from APECS Webinars on Vimeo.
-
Which Carbon sources are released from thawing permafrost soils in the High Arctic?
Presenter: Simone Aschenbrenner
Institution: Institute of Geology and Mineralogy - University of Cologne
Type: Poster
Category: Arctic
Abstract: Global warming is most pronounced in Arctic regions, causing thawing of permafrost and enhancing microbial turnover of previously frozen organic matter (OM) resulting finally in its release to the atmosphere as climate-relevant greenhouse gases. Little information is so far available about which substrates are microbially degraded upon permafrost thaw. In this study we used radiocarbon (14C) dating of carbon dioxide (CO2) reflecting carbon sources that are microbially degraded. Besides analysis of CO2 taken with respiration chambers at three different locations near Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard), we analyzed CO2 released during an aerobic long-term incubation (~ 500 days, at 4°C) indicating future sources of CO2. Additionally, a short-term incubation (5 days, at 21°C) was performed using a respirometer to determine the basal respiration.
Field 14CO2 values were close to recent atmospheric values at all three sites, despite differing organic carbon (OC) content, OC/N ratio and apparent age of the OM. After long-term incubation, the CO2 from two sites showed F14C values similar to the field data, suggesting that mostly young/fresh OC will be decomposed deriving mainly from the surface layers. At one site, which had the lowest OC content and lowest OC/N, older CO2 is released during the incubation. This suggest that older OM is microbially degraded after longer thawing when young, more labile material is not available. Surprisingly the basal respiration at this site was relatively high and thus not related to OC content and OC/N. The overall trend in these short-term incubations seems to be linked to the bulk age of the soil samples, resulting in lower respiration rates for older OM. Lipid analysis pre- and post-incubation is planned to determine which microbial communities are activated under certain environmental changes. Ongoing 13C analyses of the CO2 will be used for differentiating organic and inorganic carbon sources.APECS International Online Conference 2021_Poster presentation - Simone Aschenbrenner from APECS Webinars on Vimeo.
-
A huge mesoscale eddy observed in the Arctic Ocean
Presenter: Polina Sholeninova
Institution: University of Helsinki
Type: Poster
Category: Arctic
Abstract: Mesoscale ocean eddies are energetic vortex structures that transport the physical properties of water. The water trapped in eddies keeps its properties and may travel inside an eddy up to thousands of kilometres from its origin. The Arctic Ocean is known to be inhabited with mesoscale eddies commonly detected in depths from 200 m to 1200 m. Due to their high energetics and the ability to transfer momentum, heat and salt for long distances, the eddies may considerably affect the vertical structure of the water column in the AO.
This study investigates an eddy-like structure detected at one of the NABOS mooring stations located at the continental slope in the Laptev Sea (2013-2015). What is interesting about this eddy is that it persisted over the mooring station for almost 50 days. The CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth), current measurements from the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler in the upper ocean (30-90 m) and from the McLane Moored Profiler in the lower ocean (100-700 m) are examined. The results of this case-study will show the specific features of the eddy detected in the Eurasian Basin of the AO and to contribute to the in-depth understanding of the Arctic eddies behaviour.APECS International Online Conference 2021_Poster presentation - Polina Sholeninov from APECS Webinars on Vimeo.
-
The Approach of Reconstructing the History of Endemic Animal Species in Svalbard
Presenter: Franziska Paul
Institution: Kiel University
Type: Poster
Category: Arctic
Abstract: With the advent of natural resource exploitation in Svalbard by several profit seeking parties, especially endemic mammal species were heavily affected. After successive periods of unrestricted harvest, population dynamics altered, and recovery is still ongoing. The remnants of the exploitation phases stay and accumulate as faunal bone scatters on the surface. However, they are mostly neglected, abstracted or discarded from its archaeological context. Due to pandemic restrictions the access to sampled collection is affected, since travelling to museum collections is unfeasible and online collections lacking comprehensive assemblages. Here I am addressing the state of the examination practices of archaeofaunal bone scatters from former slaughter sites in Svalbard and their potential. Additionally, introducing the design of my archaeozoological fieldwork project in Svalbard, which is planned for August 2021, and its challenges. Main focus of the fieldwork study is to survey walrus bone scatters at former slaughter sites to unravel past population dynamics and structures. Further, attempting to collect a sensible animal bone sample to identify species abundance at each selected site. Not only pandemic restriction, but also permissions, climatic conditions and wild animal species impede to enter the archaeological sites and to conduct multi-methodological fieldwork.
APECS International Online Conference 2021_Poster presentation - Franziska Paul from APECS Webinars on Vimeo.
-
Distribution of floating macro litter in relation to oceanographic characteristics in Russian Arctic seas
Presenter: Maria Pogojeva
Institution: SOI
Type: Poster
Category: Arctic
Abstract: The main objectives of this work was the acquisition of new data on floating marine macro litter (FMML) and natural floating objects in the Arctic seas, an initial assessment of the level of pollution by FMML and an analysis of potential sources. The results of this study present the first data on FMML distribution in Russian Arctic shelf seas in relation to oceanographic conditions (i.e. position of water masses of different origin as described by temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH). The main finding of this study is that FMML was found only in the water of Atlantic origin, inflowing from the Barents Sea, where FMML average density on the observed transects was 0.92 items/ km2. Eastern parts of the study, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea were practically free from FMML. The input from rivers appears to be negligible, at least in autumn.
APECS International Online Conference 2021_Poster presentation - Maria Pogojeva from APECS Webinars on Vimeo.
APECS International Online Conference 2021 - Polar Science: Success Stories from the Field and from Home - Session 2 from APECS Webinars on Vimeo.