Biological studies in the Lena Delta
For several years the AWI has been carrying out projects in the Lena Delta focussing on the geology, biogeochemistry and paleobiology of the area. Permfrost dynamics have been a particular focus.
Increasing rates of permafrost melt potentially also have considerable implications for coastal foodwebs through changes in water chemistry (e.g. nutrients) and changing light regimes which might impede photosynthesis. Therefore in 2009 staff from the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland and Waddensea Station Sylt for the first time investigated the composition of the phytoplankton and benthic organisms as well as methane production in the Lena Delta.
The first cruises dealt with a large number of sites to establish biodiversity patterns and assess feasible sites for regular long-term investigations. In 2011 some of the sites will be sampled for the third time with the expectation to establish them as annual long-term monitoring sites.
External Projects: Joint Project on time series analyses between the Biologische Anstalt Helgoland and Institute of Southern Seas (Ukraine)
This small BMBF funded project will carry out joint analyses of the data sets held by Ukrainian and German colleagues. We main goal is to test the robustness of existing statistical techniques for time series analyses. We will evaluate these methods and their applicability in different research contexts.