UK-Russia joint session on marine expeditions in the Arctic: Understanding Marine Biology and Biogeochemistry of the Changing Arctic Ocean: CAO and Russian Arctic marine research programMes
Session description
The Arctic is undergoing profound change in response to rapidly increasing air temperatures and associated changes to the cryosphere. Many of these changes directly influence the Arctic Ocean, via processes such as oceanic warming, increased terrestrial-ocean linkages and sea-ice decline. The impact of these changes on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems is however still poorly understood. Developing a greater understanding of climate change impacts on Arctic marine biology and biogeochemistry is crucial for us to be able to project future changes, and to examine longer-term implications of change on Arctic Ocean ecosystems and beyond. In response to this challenge, multi-year marine research programmes in the Arctic are required.



This session will discuss on-going projects in the Arctic such as UK/Germany Changing Arctic Ocean Programme (CAO) and comparable Russian marine research programmes to provide a platform for improving UK-Russia bilateral science cooperation. We hope the session will allow participants to share their goals, scientific questions and priorities and help map common interests for Arctic science cooperation. The session will bring together researchers from the CAO programme, and representatives of Russia's leading research institutions involved in Arctic marine research and marine research programmes. We strongly welcome contributions from early career researchers from both Russia and the UK.
Session recording
Session organisers
Changing Arctic Ocean Programme (CAO), UK Science and Innovation Network in Russia, Marine Research and Education Conference 2020 (MARESEDU2020)
Session сhairs
  • Anna Gebruk
    LMSU MRC/University of Edinburgh/UKPN
  • Henry Burgess
    Head of the NERC Arctic Office
Session agenda
Moscow time (GMT +3)
14:30 – 14:35
14:30 – 14:35
Welcome
Zoom tech details, overview of the day
14:35 – 14:45
14:35 – 14:45
P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Head of the Laboratory of Biohydrochemistry)
Modern studies of the Kara Sea: state-of-the-art knowledge of the carbonate system variability
14:45 – 15:00
14:45 – 15:00
Professor of Ocean Sciences, University of Liverpool (Lead investigator ARISE project)
Detecting change in Arctic Ecosystems: insights from biomarkers and models
15:00 – 15:10
15:00 – 15:10
Dr. Vasiliy Povazhnyi
State Research Center "Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute" (AARI)
Recent studies in marine ecology and primary production, conducted by
AARI in the Siberian Shelf Seas
15:10 – 15:20
15:10 – 15:20
Q&A session
15:20 – 15:30
15:20 – 15:30
Lomonosov Moscow State University Marine Research Center (Head of Laboratory of Hydrobiology)
Complex Arctic expeditions of LMSU MRC: towards the Arctic Ocean observing database in the Russian Arctic
15:30 – 15:40
15:30 – 15:40
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (Co-lead investigator APEAR project)
Role of the ocean circulation for nutrients pathways, marine biogeochemistry and ecosystem: what have we learned from the APEAR project of the UK-Germany Changing Arctic Ocean Programme.
15:40 – 15:50
15:40 – 15:50
P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Researcher, laboratory of ecology of coastal bottom communities)
Invasion of the snow crab in the Kara Sea - the great natural experiment helps to understand Arctic ecosystem resilience
15:50 – 16:00
15:50 – 16:00
Northumbria University (Co-lead investigator CACOON project)
Changing Arctic carbon cycle in the coastal Ocean near-shore (CACOON)
16:00 – 16:15
16:00 – 16:15
Q&A session / Discussion
16:15 – 16:30
16:15 – 16:30
E-poster session / open discussion
Session speakers
Dr Alexander Polukhin
(PhD in Oceanology), Senior Researcher, Head of the Laboratory of biohydrochemistry, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Alexander's research focuses on studying the basis of the ecosystem of the Arctic seas - the carbonate system and nutrients variability. In the context of research, the global and regional factors of variability of the selected subjects are studied: river runoff, gas composition of the atmosphere, structure and dynamic processes in the water column, biological processes. Expeditionary research is the key to understanding the complex processes occurring in the Arctic seas; satellite observations and modeling can only supplement the data obtained in real time. The Arctic is the most important region for the planet, therefore it is necessary to study it together with scientists from all over the world.
Prof. Claire Mahaffey
Professor of Ocean Sciences, University of Liverpool; (lead investigator ARISE project)
Claire Mahaffey grew up on the shores of Belfast Lough in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. With a passion for the outdoors, environmental issues and biology, Claire studied Marine Biology with Oceanography at Bangor University in North Wales before completing a PhD in nutrient cycling in the subtropical ocean at the University of Liverpool. After her PhD, Claire accepted two postdoctoral positions in the USA, at the University of Southern California and at the University of Hawaii, where she was a worked on the Hawaii Ocean Time series programme in the subtropical Pacific Ocean. In 2007, Claire was appointed Lecturer in Ocean Sciences in Liverpool and in 2018 was appointed Professor in Ocean Sciences. As an observational oceanographer, she uses biogeochemical techniques to study nutrients and plankton in a range of environments, from shelf seas, to the subtropical ocean and most recently, the Arctic Ocean.
Dr. Yevgeny Aksenov
National Oceanography Centre, UK
Dr. Yevgeny Aksenov is a Senior Researcher at the National Oceanography Centre, UK. His research focuses on global modelling of the ocean and sea ice and on climate change implications for Polar marine ecosystems. He has received BA and MSc in Fluid Dynamics from the State Technical University of St. Petersburg and PhD in Polar Oceanography from the University of Cambridge. Dr Aksenov is the UK lead investigator for APEAR project in the NERC-BMBF Changing Arctic Ocean programme. He has been a NOC coordinator for the EU projects FP7 SWARP and H2020 COMFORT and Principal Investigator for more than 10 national projects. Dr Aksenov is the NOC member of the NEMO Sea Ice Working Group. He supervises PhD and MSc students from the UK, EU and China. Dr. Aksenov published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and is an editor for "The Cryosphere" Copernicus journal.
Dr Anna Zalota
P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Researcher, laboratory of ecology of coastal bottom communities)
I was born in Russia, but lived across the world from the age of 9. I graduated from Birmingham University, UK, in 2005 with a bachelor degree in chemistry with business studies. In 2008 I decided to change my career and enrolled in the science department of McGill University, Canada, as an independent student. And in 2010 I received a masters degree in Biodiversity and Conservation from Leeds University, UK. After which I joined Shirshov Institute in Moscow and defended my PhD thesis on Alien Decapod species in Russian seas in 2017. I now continue to study alien species Russian seas with specific interest in trophic interactions within benthic communities.
Dr. Paul Mann
Associate Professor, Northumbria University
Dr Paul Mann is an associate professor at the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, UK. He is co-lead investigator of the CACOON project ( https://www.changing-arctic-ocean.ac.uk/project/cacoon/ ) , part of the UK NERC - German BMBF Changing Arctic Ocean programme. CACOON focuses on how changing freshwater export and terrestrial permafrost thaw will influence the Arctic Ocean. In his talk, Paul will outline current work investigating gas exchange from estuarine and coastal waters, as well as initial modelling results demonstrating future impacts of freshwater supply on coastal Arctic Ocean biogeochemistry. He hopes this session will provide a platform for increasing future collaborations between the UK and Russian colleagues with similar interests.
Alexander Kokorin
Lomonosov Moscow State University Marine Research Center (Head of Laboratory of Hydrobiology)
Alexander graduated Invertebrate Zoology department of Moscow State University. After that he studied brittle stars systematics and taxonomy before switch into benthic ecology. Now, as a deputy head of Hydrobiology lab in LMSU Marine Research Center, he focuses primarily on long-term environmental monitoring of benthic communities, from both the scientist's and the administrator's point of view. LMSU MRC is one of the leading Russian companies in the offshore environmental monitoring, its expeditions perform more than 500 integrated oceanographic stations across the Arctic seas. The design of these studies, quality control, ensuring reproducibility of results, availability of large amounts of data for comparison, improving the quality of results and conclusions while increasing cost-effectiveness - these are the key challenges in this work.
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