The influence of ocean circulation on local biogeochemistry and melting tidewater glaciers in northern Baffin Bay

The Arctic is undergoing rapid change due to climate change, making local processes such as ocean heat transport and nutrient supply critical to understand due to their respective influences on retreating tidewater glaciers and local ecosystems. Northern Baffin Bay is a key region due to its proximity to rapidly retreating tidewater glaciers, as well as the North Water Polynya which has great importance to local communities and ecosystems. Using data from an ocean circulation model, along with a software called ARIANE, modelled particles will be released in northern Baffin Bay and traced backwards in time, providing information on the origin of these particles and pathways that water follows as it enters the region. Changes in temperature, salinity, and nutrient concentrations along these pathways will be used to quantify the supply of heat and nutrients, hence improving understanding of the influence of ocean circulation, heat and nutrient transport on tidewater glaciers and primary productivity in the local region.

Faculty Supervisor:

Paul Myers

Student:

Partner:

Northumbria University

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Environmental Science and Technology

University:

University of Alberta

Program: