About Project
Title of Project：Catastrophic reduction of sea-ice in the
Arctic Ocean – its impact on the marine ecosystems in the polar region–
Naomi Harada
(Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology, Research Institute for Global Climate, Team-Leader)
Research Area ： New multidisciplinary fields, Environmental science, Environmental dynamic analysis
Keyword：Environmental monitoring of the polar regions
Purpose and Background of the Research
The marine ecosystem surrounding the Arctic Ocean is complicated and difficult to predict the future because “disadvantage” phenomena such as ocean acidification and “advantage” phenomena such as improving light condition for marine organisms, respectively, aresimultaneously progressing. The aims of this study are 1) to estimate the recent changes in sea-ice thickness and sea-ice covering area, and temporal changes in primary production, 2) to understand the physiological response of marine phyto- and zooplanktons having carbonate tests on warming or freshening associated with sea-ice melting, 3) to develop a new model for marine ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean, to reproduce the primary production by using the model and to understand the response of marine ecosystems on the catastrophic environmental changes caused by rapid sea-ice reduction (Fig.1:
Inside the black circle).
Research Methods
This study will be investigated by three groups of observation by research vessel and satellite, culture and breeding of planktons, and marine ecosystem model. The specific research outlines are as follows:
- ・Estimation of changes in sea-ice thickness and covering area, and water mass structure
to understand annual changes in physical oceanographic environment associated with sea-ice expansion or reduction in the Arctic Ocean - ・Detection of seasonal and annual changes in primary production and organisms composition
- ・Understand of changes in physiological response of coccolithophorid and foraminifer on environmental changes caused by sea-ice melting by culture / breeding experiments
- ・Development of new model for marine ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean based on the
NEMURO, which has already been used for the prediction of fish resources in the North
Pacific, to reproduce the primary and secondary production and to predict the
distribution area of fish resources.
Publications Relevant to the Project
Nishino, S. et al. (2009) Vertical double silicate maxima in the sea-ice reduction region of
the western Arctic Ocean: implications for an enhanced biological pump due to sea-ice
reduction. J. Oceanogr., 60, 871–883. Yamamoto-Kawai M. et al. (2009) Aragonite
undersaturation in the Arctic Ocean: effects of ocean acidification and sea ice melt,
Science, 326, 1098–1100.
Term of Project
FY2010-2014
Budget Allocation
152, 300 Thousand Yen
