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SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Arctic Pingos: microbial hotspots in the cold (APPOINTED)

Awarded: NOK 57,999

Project Manager:

Project Number:

322369

Project Period:

2021 - 2021

Funding received from:

Arctic regions are climate sensitive and effect of change in temperature can be observed easily due to melting of ice, glacier retreat and permafrost thaws. Microorganisms are highly abundant and active in Arctic ecosystems whereas, they are the first responders for climate change crises and are major drivers of main biogeochemical cycles. There are reported several knowledge gaps in study of Arctic microbiology which may be addressed through the study of Pingo. Pingos are dome-shaped mounds consisting of a layer of sediment over large core of ice, occurring in permafrost. Recent studies on open system pingos have reported large fluxes of Methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) but the origin of methane still needs to be explored. A pilot-scale study was conducted using available samples from different pingo sites in Central Spitsbergen in collaboration at UNIS in April 2020. It was designed to explore the microbiome present in water discharging from pingos, with a specific focus on the functional groups of methane oxidizers in our samples. The reason to target these microbes firstly, a group of bacteria (methanotrophs) are responsible for the oxidation of methane present in these ecosystems and convert the methane to CO2 secondly, methanogenic archaea are responsible for biogenic methane production (methanogenesis). Optimized and developed techniques for cultivation of bacteria from the Arctic region, which is a unique environment and therefore, requires a specialized skillset which are being developed in our lab. Methane is a significant greenhouse gas in climate change.This project is part of my PhD thesis and conducting this fieldwork is of crucial importance to fulfill the proposed objectives for PhD.

Funding scheme:

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum