Research on changes in the Arctic is urgent. The polar regions are like an air conditioning system for the planet. However, glaciers and sea ice are rapidly receding. International cooperation is crucial for polar research in order to understand climatic changes and their impact on life in the Arctic. This is why the Dutch Research Council is funding six projects in which young Dutch researchers are working together with scientists at the Alfred Wegener Institute to explore key questions related to climate change and Arctic ecosystems.
The funded projects investigate, among other things, the melting of glaciers and sea ice as well as the thawing of permafrost soil. With its call ‚Arctic Research in Cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute’, the Dutch Research Council NWO is strengthening the scientific exchange between Dutch and AWI researchers, while at the same time promoting young talents.
These projects will be funded:
Uncertain Ground - Can expansion of High Arctic vegetation help stabilize thawing permafrost hillslopes?
Permafrost forms the frozen foundation of life in Arctic systems. Its thawing under climate extremes affects communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. The project investigates whether High Arctic plants and their belowground structures can help stabilizing permafrost hillslopes.
Dr. Rúna Magnusson (Wageningen Universität), Prof. Julia Boike und Dr. Inge Grünberg (AWI), Dr. Simone Lang (UNIS)
Disappearing Arctic's Thickest Sea Ice: impacts on glaciers and rising sea levels
The planet’s oldest and thickest Arctic sea ice is located North of Canada and Greenland. Once a bastion against climate change, it has been disappearing at an alarming rate over the past two decades. Researchers will use satellite data, airborne observations, and climate models to uncover how this loss impacts nearby glaciers and accelerating sea level rise.
Dr. Lu Zhou (Utrecht Universität), Prof. Christian Haas, Prof. Julienne Stroeve und Dr. Thomas Krumpen (AWI)
Predicting the future of the Arctic Ocean at high resolution
The Arctic Ocean and sea ice play a crucial role in regulating global ocean circulation, weather in the Northern Hemisphere and the distribution of solar heat. Over the past decades, the circulation of the Arctic Ocean has changed due to water freshening and a considerable reduction in sea ice extent. The project global high-resolution simulations and in-situ observations to assess the causes and consequences of projected Arctic Ocean changes in the coming decades.
Dr. Mukund Gupta (Technische Universität Delft), Dr. Qiang Wang und Dr. Wilken-Jon von Appen (AWI)
The disappearing ice shelves of Greenland glaciers
Global warming is hitting hard in the Arctic region. Greenland‘s glaciers are retreating rapidly and their ice tongues floating on top of the ocean are disappearing: There are only three glaciers left with such a floating ice tongue, and every time a part breaks off, the glacier behind it accelerates and moves a large amount of ice into the ocean, causing sea level rise and changes in ocean circulation that can drastically change the world’s climate. Understanding the drivers of this phenomenon will help improve climate projections.
Prof.dr. Renske Gelderloos, (TU Delft), Dr. Claudia Wekerle und Prof. Torsten Kanzow (AWI), Dr. Faezeh Nick (Utrecht Universität), Prof. Julie Pietrzak (TU Delft)
In the dark: How Arctic phytoplankton survive the warming polar winter
Phytoplankton normally need light energy to survive. In the Arctic, however, the unicellular marine algae are exposed to several months of darkness. The strategies they use to survive the polar night are not yet fully understood. The project will combine existing data sets with a fieldwork campaign during the Arctic winters to analyse how phytoplankton respond to global warming.
Prof. Susanne Wilken (Universität von Amsterdam), Dr. Clara Hoppe (AWI), Prof. Corina Brussaard (NIOZ)
Plumbing the biological pump: What influence do floating snails and seafloor organisms have on our climate?
Our climate is largely influenced by the storage and recycling of carbon in our oceans by the so-called “biological pump“, especially at the poles. Swimming snails and animals that live on the sea floor influence the pump, but are not yet taken into account in climate change calculations. The project will therefore determine these missing components in order to better predict how our climate will change.
Dr.ir. Jasper de Goeij (Universität von Amsterdam), Prof. Morten Iversen, Prof. Claudio Richter, Prof. Judith Hauck, Dr. Katja Metfies, Dr. Autun Purser und Dr Laurent Oziel (AWI), Prof. Katja Peijnenburg (Naturalis), Dr. Furu Mienis (NIOZ), Dr. Cara Nissen (UvA)
Cooperation AWI-NWO
The initiative to strengthen collaboration in polar research was developed during the visit of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima to the AWI in 2019. The Dutch polar programme is funded by five ministries and is implemented by the NWO. ‘Arctic Science in Collaboration with AWI’ builds on a long-standing and successful scientific collaboration between the Dutch polar research community and the AWI. The programme strengthens existing partnerships, creates new links for collaboration and contributes to a coordinated European approach to understanding rapid environmental change in the Arctic.