Week 2: Some comments by Corina...

And it is true that they have had an intense week of training and introduction. On the apparatus they need to use, on survival on the glacier, on health & safety in the lab and around the base, on how to recognize certain algal species (by me) and how to arrange and set up the lab containers such that you can work efficiently.

Tristan and Zoi preparing for their first boat trip

Yes, we are on land and still work in laboratory containers. We are guests on the British Antarctic base Rothera, situated on the Western Antarctic Peninsula. We are here as part of a larger program funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), including bringing 4 laboratory containers each with different specifics here to allow Dutch scientists to perform research complementary to the British research going on here. We are the first of the “Dutch party” and have to explain why our nice NWO-funded coats are not orange (but bright blue instead). The lab containers are placed in a docking station that keeps them free of snow and with extra space around them to store our boxes once emptied into the lab containers. The facilities are amazing and it is a joy to be here setting up with the two lucky students of my lab (Tristan and Zoi) who will stay until the end of the season, whereas I will leave at the end of the month already.

Gerritz Lab opposite of Bonner's Lab                                        Laboratory container in the docking station.

It is around 22.30 right now, I notice on the clock, and the sun still shines brightly into the room – the view out of the window is spectacular! Glacier twists and turns as well as ice bergs light up in the 100-shades of blue world here. The wind has been severe the last week and finally the sea-ice  has blown out. We see the sea again and the chance to actually go out in the Zodiac boat to sample is realistic again. This week’s weather makes one aware that we are indeed living and working in an extreme environment and that all activities depend on the weather and every plan should have at least a couple of back-up plans. Although we saw sea-ice upon our arrival, the winter here has apparently been rather warm and the sea-ice not so thick. Global climate change (particularly global warming) is noticeable here according to the statistics, as well as to those who have been here more often. Of those at base, many have been here before or want to come back again. I can see it is not only the environment but also the lifestyle that is addictive.

With the weather clearing, we noticed quite some people leaving to go to their study locations in the field more on the continent of Antarctica. Some as deep as the South Pole!

Evening view on the icescape of Rothera at 23:00 h.

So why are WE here then? Below for those interested in a bit more of a scientific background (what and why). And for those not into science too much, we will over the course of our season elaborate a bit more on the different techniques and goals J.  Do not hesitate to contact us by email (Tristan.biggs@nioz.nl; corina.brussaard@nioz.nl) if you have any questions or comments. Due to limited internet, we cannot go on Facebook or have an interactive blog, but email works. 

Stay tuned, as Tristan and Zoi will finish their blog about last week soon so more is coming!

Our project, with the acronym ANTPHIRCO, is all about Antarctic phytoplankton in a changing world and its consequences for the lower pelagic food web.

The polar seas are experiencing changes in ocean properties, circulation and sea ice cover. These rapid climatic changes are and will trigger pronounced shifts and reorganization in ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling. The Antarctic Peninsula (AP) is exhibiting rapid warming, making it an ideal location to monitor and understand the impacts of rapid climate change on marine ecosystems with the goal helping predict further changes in polar ecosystems. Because the Antarctic continent is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, which is the only body of water that encircles the globe and connects all three of the worlds’ main ocean basins, processes occurring in the Antarctic affect the physics, chemistry and biology of the global ocean and have a role in determining the Earth’s climate.

The changes along the western continental shelf of the AP are profound, with midwinter surface atmospheric temperature increasing by 6°C (more than five times the global average) in the past 50 years, ocean warming accelerating, more than 85% of the AP glaciers in retreat, shortening of the ice season by 90 days, and the loss of perennial sea ice.

Phytoplankton form the base of most marine food chains, produce more than half of the Earth’s oxygen and play a critical role in the global inorganic carbon cycle. The waters around the AP are generally highly productive. However, the rapid regional climate changes along the AP have been reported to affect phytoplankton biomass concentrations and species composition. The consequences for the food web are largely unknown still.

The two major routes of algal carbon flow are (1) from larger phytoplankton to larger zooplankton (Antarctic copepods, krill and salp) and thereby to higher predators, and (2) to the microbial food web directly from smaller-sized algae and via the detrital pathway through viral-lysis.

Restructuring of the phytoplankton community (species and cell size) as a result of changing climate conditions will have direct consequences for grazer communities and biogeochemical cycles. Copepods that serve themselves as food for whales for example, are inefficient at grazing small cells. Furthermore, dominance of small phytoplankton will result in reduced particulate organic carbon export to the seafloor (i.e. biological pump). Then, viruses have been shown to infect all major phytoplankton groups and responsible for substantial mortality rates. Viruses impact not only host population dynamics, succession and diversity. Viral activity results in lysis of the algal host cells, thereby reducing the transfer of algal cellular carbon to grazers. Despite the considerable evidence indicating that viruses are key players in aquatic ecosystems, the extent to which viruses control algal production and affect population dynamics and species composition in the Antarctic is still virtually non-studied.

Our project intends to study in a detailed and synergistic manner how viruses control Antarctic phytoplankton production and composition in comparison to grazers. Furthermore, we will study the resulting consequences for the nutrition and overwintering behaviour of key zooplankton grazers.

The temporal (we are at Rothera for the full spring/summer season now as well as next year!) and comparative character of this study is unique and is expected to significantly advance our comprehension of phytoplankton in a changing world and in particular its consequences for the pelagic food web. It is anticipated that the project will deliver essential data for ecosystem modeling, provide a solid base for future studies, and contribute to both building linkages between the interactive processes of phytoplankton, viruses and predators in the productive coastal Antarctic waters and the resultant effects on socio-economical resources.