A fishing boat navigates through stranded icebergs at the mouth of Illulisat Isfjord in Western Greenland. Glacier fjords provide rich fishing grounds for men, seabirds and marine mammels alike. (Photo: T. Dunse).
How do glaciers affect marine primary production in the ocean? This question was raised during the break-out session of the second cross-cutting event “The importance of Arctic glaciers for the Arctic marine ecosystem” between the IASC Cryosphere and Marine working group. The activity was an integral part of the Network on Arctic Glaciology annual meeting and workshop on the dynamics and mass balance of Arctic Glaciers. The workshop brought together 58 participants from 16 countries and was a good framework for the glacier and marine communities to get to know each other better and establish networks for future interdisciplinary collaboration.
The break-out session moreover offered an excellent platform to discuss a synthesis paper of the cross-cutting activity, currently being prepared by Mark Hopwood et al., addressing the following questions: Where and when does glacial freshwater promote marine primary production and where and when does it retard marine primary production? How do variations in glacial discharge timing and location affect marine organisms? How far-reaching are glacial effects of glaciers on marine biogeochemistry?
Contact: Thorben Dunse