Identification and mapping of marine microplastics and macroalgae

This project has two focus areas. The first focus of this project is marine water and sediments. We will sample regions of the fjord with differing freshwater inputs with MS Teisten to assess the contribution of freshwater to MP pollution. We will sample marine sediments from Kongsforfe to assess if they are a sink, and sediments from Bayelva River to compare fresh and fjord water. Sampling will occur in October (no sea ice, stable freshwater input) and January (little freshwater input, sea ice formation). We will compare samples from these periods to detect seasonal changes in MP abundance and distribution.Promising improvements on analysis time make hyperspectral imaging (HSI) an attractive technology that is still in development. This work will be the first to directly compare results from HSI to the current best available technology (Raman spectroscopy), while contributing to method development. The second focus will look at survival and growth mechanisms of macroalgae during the polar night which are still not understood. The most studied species of kelp in Kongsfjord (S. latissima and L. solidungula) revealed that there are two different growth strategies. S. latissima has a major growth period during the spring and summer whereas L. solidungula grows mostly during the polar night. In Jan 2020 we measured photosynthetic parameters of Photosystem II in 8 common species of algae in the bay at the Ny-Ålesund lab, to assess their health status. Samples for pigment analysis were also taken. Preliminary results show differences between algae groups (green, red and brown) as well as between tissue of different ages. This project will build on these findings by comparing different seasons and conducting light-photosynthesis and bio-optical experiments. Specimens will be subjected to different light intensities to measure their reaction to sudden increase in light. Samples from all specimens will be frozen for analysis using HPLC to look at pigment composition.