Eco-Light

Ecosystem functions controlled by sea ice and light in a changing Arctic

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Overview

As the Arctic is changing, it is no longer dominated by thick multi-year ice (MYI), but it is a regime dominated by thinner, more dynamic, first-year ice (FYI).

  • How does this new Arctic influence light penetration through ice and snow?
  • How will the ecosystem respond to changes in light conditions and food availability?

Eco-Light will provide fundamental data to improve parameterisations of physical processes, as well as biogeochemical and ecosystem processes in the snow, sea ice and upper ocean.

This project is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and by UKRI NERC.

Dr Jeremy Wilkinson, British Antarctic Survey, is Project Leader:

Understanding Arctic change needs an international approach combined with a long-term scientific presence in the Arctic marine environment.  Eco-Light delivers on both these areas.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Jeremy Wilkinson

    Co-lead investigator, British Antarctic Survey (BAS)

    Dr Jeremy Wilkinson is engaged in leading-edge polar research programs spanning both poles. He is employed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), represents the UK on the International Arctic Science Committee’s Marine Science Working Group, is a former member of the UK Arctic and Antarctic Partnership (UKAAP), and sits on the Scientific Steering Group of Antarctic Sea-Ice Processes and Climate. With Giulia Castellani, Jeremy is co-lead investigator of the Eco-Light project.

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  • Dr Giulia Castellani

    Co-lead investigator, Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)

    Giulia Castellani is an early career scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Germany, whose expertise covers the fields of sea ice physics and biology. Her research focuses on the links between sea ice physical properties, sea ice ecology and biogeochemistry, and the sympagic ecosystem. Her work is inserted in a highly interdisciplinary environment combining physics, biology, and also modelling and field work. She is the co-lead investigator in the Eco-Light project.

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