Details of Award
NERC Reference : NER/A/S/2003/00340
Antarctic sea ice biogeochemistry.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor D Thomas, Bangor University, Sch of Ocean Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor HA Kennedy, Bangor University, Sch of Ocean Sciences
- Grant held at:
- Bangor University, Sch of Ocean Sciences
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Earth
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Natural Resource Management
- Global Change
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Environmental Microbiology
- Palaeobiology
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Glacial & Cryospheric Systems
- Abstract:
- Two scientists from Bangor will join a 50 scientist team to conduct a rare experiment, tied up to a large drifting ice floe in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. They will conduct 50 days of sampling and experimental work to investigate a unique microbial assemblage that thrives within the sea ice itself and in the waters directly underneath the ice. In particular the group will study the supply of nitrogen and carbon to the bacteria and algae, how this is affected by the temperature and saltiness of the brines contained in the ice, which is where the organisms live. The work will, for the first time, try to link the seasonal dynamics of nutrients, photosynthetic organisms and bacteria and look for specific chemical signatures of the organisms that can relate to the chemical environment in which they have grown. Such signatures are useful tools to use as proxies for past ice cover. Many of the measurements will be made on board the ship, however, some sophisticated chemical analyses will be made on samples returned to Bangor. The work is central to global interest in polar systems and in particular microbial dynamics and diversity and chemical processes within the oceans. The expedition is organised by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany, but will involve researchers from other nations. The total cost of the grant is #327K, however additional support of #23K has been given from other sources and the German hosts are providing support in the order of #160K.
- NERC Reference:
- NER/A/S/2003/00340
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £256,815
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Staff | Total - Other Costs | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| £7,707 | £124,303 | £67,626 | £57,178 |
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