Two University of Otago research projects based in Antarctica have received Catalyst Fund grants.
Two Otago-led projects investigating Antarctica’s sea ice decline and exploring groundwater movements are part of an international collaboration that has received funding from the Government.
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti recently announced Aotearoa New Zealand and the US will partner on three projects with up to $5 million from the Catalyst Fund over five years.
Associate Professor Inga Smith
Associate Professor Inga Smith, of the Department of Physics, and Dr Sarah Seabrook, of the Department of Marine Science, are the New Zealand-based principal investigators of two projects.
The project led by Associate Professor Smith will use novel buoys, remote sensing technologies and modelling to uncover why the Ross Sea sea ice is shrinking and what it means for ecosystems and management of the Marine Protected Area.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to investigate sea ice’s rapid decline in the Ross Sea with research colleagues from across New Zealand,” she says.
“Through this project, we will work closely with our USA-based colleagues using innovative and cutting-edge technologies and modelling.
“Our research will link us to the wider international research effort `Antarctica InSync’.”
Antarctica InSync will improve environmental protection of Antarctica through synchronising Antarctic and Southern Ocean observations by multiple countries of systems such as sea ice, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice sheets, ice shelves, and ecosystems, she says.
Dr Sarah Seabrook and her team drill through the sea ice to access the ocean below, where they use remotely-operated vehicles and scuba divers to sample the system.
While Associate Professor Smith’s research focuses on sea ice covering the ocean, Dr Seabrook’s delves below the surface.
Dr Sarah Seabrook
It will provide the first integrated mapping and analysis of Antarctic groundwater flows to understand how subsurface water moves carbon, nutrients and microbes between land, ice and ocean, improving environmental management in the Ross Sea region.
“In this research we are working with a system that we know is changing rapidly but the mechanics of this change remain poorly understood,” Dr Seabrook says.
“To overcome these knowledge gaps, enabling us to determine regional and global implications and predict impacts of future climate scenarios, we need international, multidisciplinary, collaboration and coordination – exactly what this Catalyst research programme provides.
“We are very excited to work with this international team of experts to develop a holistic understanding of changing processes across the land-sea continuum in the Antarctic and to integrate this work into Antarctica InSync efforts, increasing the breadth of impact.”
Dr Reti says this initiative marks the next phase of the joint Antarctic science programme.
“Our researchers will work alongside leading US scientists supported by the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs, tackling some of the most urgent environmental questions facing the planet,” he says.
“This is a significant step in our Antarctic science co-operation and will also help to unlock science-driven innovation and growth in New Zealand.”
- Kōrero by Media Engagement Adviser Jessica Wilson
A seafloor lander recovered by Dr Sarah Seabrook and her team was deployed for a year with a variety of sensors which measured variations in methane, carbon dioxide, salinity and other metrics over seasonal cycles.
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