Response to nutrient enrichment of freshwaters in a changing Arctic, RiS ID 11396

In surface inlands waters of the high Arctic, microorganisms are the dominant drivers of nutrient recycling, and they are already responding to the extensive temperature and nutrient changes in the Arctic with major feedbacks predicted on climate. For this reason, Svalbard provides a template of the environmental responses of oligotrophic pristine freshwaters to nutrient enrichment derived from climate change. The primary objective of the project is to study the response of microorganisms to nutrient enrichment in inland Arctic freshwaters from the Kongsfjorden area. As an Arctic Field Grant, fieldwork will consist of collecting water and sediment samples valid for estimating, both by direct measurement and after incubations, the link between microorganism community structure, metabolic potential and rates of nutrient cycling. To know which microorganisms are present and what processes they are able perform, molecular (multi-OMICS) and biogeochemical tools (stable isotope and rate measurements) will be combined.