Scientific Discipline: Biological Oceanography, Biogeochemistry, Physical Oceanography
Research Area: Disko Bay, West Greenland coastline
Research Vessel: RV Sanna
PI Name and Affiliation: Dr Mark Hopwood, Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany/ SUSTech Southern University of Science and Technology, China
Date: 10 - 24 August 2022
Citation from PI: EUROFLEETs+ has provided us with a fantastic opportunity to survey the Disko Bay area using the RV Sanna, a research platform run by an experienced Greenlandic crew which will allow us to access the world’s largest glacier outflow from the Ilulissat Ice Fjord. Our team of 6 scientists from GEOMAR (Germany), CNR-ISMAR (Italy), the University of Florida and San José State University (USA) will spend two weeks mapping the major freshwater plume that exists the glacier and flows into the Bay, determining it’s physical, biological and chemical effects on the marine system.
Our research program will investigate the role of icebergs in the marine system focusing on coastal dynamics around one of the largest glaciers in the world, Jakobshavn Isbræ. Specifically, we will investigate (a) how iceberg melt affects the structure of the water column, (b) how iceberg age affects the chemical composition of ice, for example from the rapid loss of basal/sediment-rich ice and on-going photochemical processes and (c) how melt water from glaciers affects pelagic primary producers. We will utilize underway sensors to show, in high resolution, the fate of runoff from Greenland and a series of incubation experiments and water column profiles to assess the effects of melt water on primary producers and the marine carbon cycle.