Description du projet
Reconstruire les polynies passés dans le Haut-Arctique pour prédire leur avenir
Les polynies sont de larges étendues d’eaux libres de glace toute l’année, situées à deux grandes portes d’entrée de l’Arctique et de l’Atlantique dans les océans couverts de glace de mer qui entourent le nord du Groenland. Elles sont vitales pour la faune et les communautés indigènes de l’Arctique, deux composantes extrêmement sensibles aux fluctuations rapides du climat pendant l’Holocène. Le projet POLARC, financé par l’UE, vise à reconstituer les circulations océaniques, la production primaire et la dynamique de la glace de mer dans les deux principales polynies de la mer du Groenland. Le projet s’intéressera aux grands intervalles climatiques du début et de la fin de l’Holocène. Par ailleurs, il aura recours aux données du modèle du système terrestre pour évaluer les dynamiques d’hier et prévoir les dynamiques de demain suivant différentes voies de concentration des gaz à effet de serre, telles que définies par le Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat.
Objectif
The Arctic is undergoing a profound transformation. The striking increase in observed Greenland Ice Sheet melt and sea-ice retreat are two symptoms of the multiple impacts of climate change at high latitudes. In the sea-ice covered oceans surrounding northern Greenland however, large areas of year-round open water, termed polynyas, have been present since historical times. Located at two major Arctic-Atlantic gateways, these biological productivity hotspots support not only large mammals and birds but are a vital natural and cultural resource for indigenous Arctic communities. Polynyas also act as a potentially significant carbon sink. Three large polynyas recurrently form around northern Greenland. Paleoceanographic reconstructions of the largest, the North Water Polynya, indicate that the polynya and its associated ecosystem are extremely sensitive to rapid climatic fluctuations during the Holocene. Taking advantage of new, readily available marine sediment cores, I propose to reconstruct, for the first time, ocean circulation and sea-ice dynamics at the two main polynyas in the Greenland Sea (North East Water and Sirius Water). This action will target key climatic intervals in the early (Holocene Climatic Optimum) and late (Little Ice Age, Medieval Warm Period) Holocene and provide direct input to a fully-coupled earth system model to evaluate past and, more vitally, predict future dynamics under different greenhouse gas concentration pathways defined by the IPCC. This action provides a unique opportunity for me to learn a new proxy for Arctic paleoclimate reconstructions, skills in the applicability of paleo-data to modelling and a number of essential transferable skills such as scientific writing and mentorship, coupled with an extensive new network of expert collaborators. Through this action, I believe I can contribute to bringing this field of research forward, while gaining invaluable assets for my career development as an independent Arctic researcher.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencespalaeontologypaleoclimatology
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologymammalogy
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationssimulation software
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinateur
1350 Kobenhavn K
Danemark