Today, the 178th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is being held in Vancouver. Marcel Babin, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Remote Sensing of Canada's New Arctic Frontier at the Université Laval, is one of the researchers who will be discussing his findings on the effects of environmental changes in the Arctic. The focus of Babin's research is on Arctic micro-organisms and the findings are uncovering how melting sea ice due to environmental changes could be leading to an overall increase in algae levels in Arctic waters. Based on the models that Babin and his team developed, predictions ten years in advance about algae production in the arctic will be possible by the end of this year.
Today, the 178th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is being held in Vancouver, Canada. Marcel Babin, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Remote Sensing of Canada's New Arctic Frontier at the Université Laval, is one of the researchers who will be discussing his findings on the effects of environmental changes in the Arctic.
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The focus of Babin's research is on Arctic micro-organisms and the findings are uncovering how melting sea ice due to environmental changes could be leading to an overall increase in algae levels in Arctic waters. Based on the models that Babin and his team have developed, predictions ten years in advance about algae production in the arctic will be possible by the end of this year.
"Light is necessary for algae to grow. Less sea ice means more light, which means more algae if there are enough nutrients to support increased production," Babin explains. "As the algae are at the basis of the trophic chain, we expect that all these changes will modify the structure of whole communities in marine environments."
Using state-of-the-art satellite remote sensing, Babin's team is developing new ways to track and document environmental changes and create complex computer models of Arctic ecosystems. Phytoplankton is a focus of this research.
"Phytoplankton fuels the whole trophic chain," Babin says. "So the experiments we are doing in the lab and at sea are designed to determine how it—and a number of other key organisms—respond to environmental factors such as temperature, light and nutrients."
By growing phytoplankton in his lab, Babin is able to simulate environmental changes by altering the nutrient, light, and temperature levels in a controlled setting. He then observes and documents the effects these changes have on the phytoplankton. Using these experiments and results, the team is then able to develop models which can be used to predict how ecosystems in the Arctic will be affected by different environmental changes in nature.
An important application of these models and research is the possibility of being able to predict how environmental accidents, like oil spills, might affect delicate Arctic ecosystems.
"If someone asks me what the impact of an oil spill in the Arctic will be, the only way I can give an accurate answer is by knowing and understanding how these systems work," he says. "We know only very partially at the moment. Part of this research will make us ready to answer that question."
More information about the conference and Babin’s research can be found here.
