Relative importance of different sources of particulate matter in the Kongsfjorden environment

Updated 2003-07-04

The general objective of this research concerns the quantitative and qualitative study of particulate matter retained in natural (sea-ice and sediment) and artificial (sediment traps) traps in order to determine the main origin (autochtonous and allochtonous) and the relative importance of different fractions of particulate matter and to follow their fate in the environment. To quantify the autochtonous origin of particulate matter, primary production, nutrient uptake, biomass distribution, phytoplankton community structure and fluxes in the first levels of the trophic chain will be investigated. Studies will be conducted in the sea-ice environment and in the water column and compared to the particle fluxes measured both in the water, using sediment traps and in the sediment, by radiometric chronology, in order to estimate the different contribution of these habitats to carbon export to the bottom. The zooplankton will be identified and counted and primary production, nutrient uptake and phytoplankton dynamics will be related to hydrological structure and nutrient availability in the environment. The Kongsfjord results particularly suitable for the main objective of this research as it is influenced by important inputs of both atmospheric (eolic and meteroric) and glacial origin and is characterised by a complex hydrological situation which may promote autochtonous productive processes, thus determining important particulate fluxes.

Time frame

Status
Ongoing
Project time span
2003 - 2008
Data collection
2003 - 2008
Data processing
not specified
Data reporting
not specified

Contact information

Contact person
Giorgio SOCAL
Address
Castello 1364/A 30122 Venezia
Phone
+39 41 2404711
Fax
+39 41 5204126
Email
ti.rnc.wev.mbi@lacos

Parameters and Media

Parameter groups measured/observed/modelled
Biological effects
Climate change effects
Media sampled/studied/modelled
Freshwater benthos
Ice/snowpack
Marine benthos
Plankton (zooplankton)
Seawater/suspended particulate matter

Geography

Regions studied
Climate change effects
Climate change effects

Data availability

Samples/specimens archived in specimen banks?
No

Methods & Procedures

Not specified

Additional Information

Is this a bi- AND multi-lateral project (i.e. a project involving cooperation between different countries)?
No
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