UNCW scientists study Arctic ecosystems to advance sea ice research

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Eight UNCW scientists are on the brink of making major breakthroughs in sea ice research.

Till Wagner, Heather Koopman, Andrew Castagno, Elizabeth Bailey, Connor Lester and Hillary Glandon, David Wells and Yvonne Marsan participated in the 3-week research trip last month to the Fram Strait in the Arctic Ocean. It was focused on learning more about the spring bloom of plankton at the edge of that ocean.

Wagner says, in early analysis, they found that without the seasonal ice melt nothing can grow. He says the melted fresh water is rich in nutrients that help the plankton grow.

“Every winter, the sea ice in the Arctic grows and then it melts over the course of the summer and we need that melt water for the ecosystem,” Wagner said. “Now, you can imagine in a world where the sea ice has disappeared and doesn’t grow as much in the winter then you don’t have that melt water anymore to provide for the ecosystem.”

He says, with a growing interest in the Arctic for shipping, and oil and gas exploration, researchers need to better understand the ecosystems there.

“Sea ice is disappearing so there’s increase interest in tourism,” Wagner said. “There’s opening shipping lanes. There’s interest in oil and gas exploration and all of these human activities in the region will impact the ecosystem. In order to assess what our impacts will be, we first have to understand the system itself.”