Project title – Synoptic Pan-Arctic Climate and Environment Study (SPACE)

Project web site – http://asof.npolar.no/library/pdf/IPY_SPACE.pdf

Activity leader(s) (name, affiliation, email address) – Dr. Ursula Schauer, Alfred Wegener Institute fro Marine and Polar Research (AWI), uschauer@awi-bremerhaven.de

ArcOD cluster participant – Ksenia Kosobokova, Shirshov Institute, Moscow, Russia, xkosobokova@ocean.ru

Project goals (1-2 sentences) – This project aims to survey key Arctic areas during the same year for ocean and ice parameters including the physical state of ocean water masses and ice cover, as well as the distribution of chemical substances and their effects on biota. When seen in combination with long-term observation programs (e.g. ASOF, SEARCH, ISAC), the spatial coverage and high resolution of data collected within this project will be used to distinguish between advected and locally induced features and processes taking place in the Arctic and to determine time scales of signal propagation.

Goals of ArcOD-related activity

• Zooplankton sampling throughout the entire water column from the bottom to the surface on transects perpendicular to the continental slope and across the ridges to study species composition and spatial distribution of zooplankton in relation to the Atlantic water inflow. In total, 30 stratified multi-net stations were taken: four in the shelf region, seven in the slope region and 19 stations in the deep basins (eleven of them in the area deeper than 3000 m, and two deeper than 4000 m

• collection of animals for genetic analyses

Geographic focus – Arctic Ocean: Eurasian Basin (Nansen and Amundsen basins), adjacent shelf seas (Barents, Kara, Laptev seas) and Canadian Basin (Makarov Basin)

Taxonomic focus – Planktonic and sea ice biota

Countries involved in activity – Collaboration with the international projects Arctic Snapshot and GEOTRACES, and is part of the international program “The Northern Seas at a time of Global Change: An AOSB-CLIC observing plan for the IPY”

Expedition dates and vessels – RV Polarstern, 28 July – 7 October 2007, field activities 30 July - 23 September 2007.

IPY Activity #18