Case study: Helping to link Arctic research

Marine biologist Dr Ceri Lewis, a NERC Research Fellow in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, joined a major Arctic research expedition in the spring of 2010 in order to investige the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on the wide range of marine life in the Arctic Ocean.

In preparation for the venture, Dr Lewis undertook a gruelling training regime to prepare herself physically and mentally for the challenges of spending six weeks in temperatures of minus 40 centigrade. This included having training on what to do if she encountered a polar bear, or found herself in the ice waters, and simply learning how to survive living in a tent in the harsh arctic conditions.

The Catlin Arctic Survey brings together experts from across industry and higher education, including Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Bangor University, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, to research a number of areas including CO₂ acidification.

CO₂ acidification of the world's oceans is an area of major concern worldwide, and the polar regions are expected to be most rapidly affected by ocean acidification owing to increased CO₂ solubility at cold tempertures and under saturation of CaCO₃ in Artic Waters is predicted within the next 20-50 years.  Evidence is increasing that small changes to pH levels exerts physiological stress on marine organisims.

How RKT helped

The expedition itself was largely funded by Catlin Arctic Surveys, but Dr Lewis was awarded a grant from the University's Link Fund in order to pay for air fares and other travel expenses, enabling her to attend the survey. The Link Fund is a long-running RKT scheme intended to strengthen links with business by facilitating travel expenses and events, and which uses money from the Higher Education Innovation Fund. Sometimes it's the little things that help to facilitate important research.

A series of ocean acidification experiments were made over the two month period that Ceri was in the Arctic. The data collected will be used as preliminary data and proof of concept for a joint NERC grant with Plymouth Marine Laboratory to continue researching into ocean acidification. The research results should lead to a number of publications in key journals, and Dr Lewis has already presented findings at conferences, as well as being the subject or considerable local and national media attention.

You can track the progress of the Catlin Arctic Survey by looking at their widget.