Environmentally sustainable industry operations require comprehensive ecosystem understanding, safe and effective monitoring technologies, and a reliable data archive for assessing risk and driving management strategies. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in sensitive Arctic regions where the knowledge base is incomplete, operational risk is high, and databases are fragmented and not user-friendly. The PolarFront project conducted multi-seasonal, high-resolution studies of distribution, productivity and food-web dynamics across a wide size-spectrum of the pelagic community, from bacteria to whales. We worked in the Polar Front region of the Barents Sea, an area known to have disproportionally high ecological value and sensitivity, and one that marks the approximate southern boundary of the seasonal ice zone. We complemented shipboard sampling and experimental approaches with novel, integrated autonomous sampling technology to broaden the ecological context of point measurements, and to test the utility of these novel monitoring methods under challenging conditions, including the Polar Night. Since the Polar Front is known to act as a distributional boundary, an area of enhanced production, and an important feeding area for plankton, fish, seabirds and mammals, our ecological studies focused on these topics. We investigated the ecological foundation of the value of this region, with special attention to ecological processes and species of key ecosystem and management importance, including primary productivity, pelagic trophic pathways, krill, polar cod, and capelin, the latter two being important in the transfer of primary production to higher trophic level species. In our digitalization strategy we stressed conforming to national and international data management standards, as well as developing flexible solutions to format data for direct input into risk assessment, ecological, and management modelling systems. We spent considerable effort on communication of both data and scientific results to diverse users through scientific presentations and articles/blogs in the popular science press. Furthermore, more than 30 early career researchers took part in PolarFront research, including 11 whose projects were directly tied to our project. Close cooperation and active involvement of industry and management bodies throughout the project assured results were relevant and accessible to end-users.
The PolarFront project enhanced scientific knowledge, applies new technology and digital infrastructure, and fosters collaborative relationships across diverse stakeholder groups. We addressed identified knowledge gaps and industry needs related to the value and sensitivity of the marine ecosystem of the Polar Front, thus contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals on 'Affordable and clean energy' and 'Life under water.'
We contributed to the testing and phasing in of novel autonomous technologies for research and environmental monitoring. Successful deployments and integration with ship-derived data streams provided a proof-of-concept for how these technologies can broaden the temporal and spatial footprint of standard sampling and provide greater context for scientific data.
Results provided new insights into the role of the Polar Front, suggesting that it may play key roles in ecosystem structure and process, although these roles may differ seasonally. This new level of complexity must be considered in regional assessments of sensitive and valuable areas. Our finding of extreme mismatch in phytoplankton and its grazers in spring is in contrast to that in most text-book summaries of ecosystem functioning. This may be an impact of changing climatic conditions and needs to be monitored in the future. Very high productivity documented under drifting sea ice increases uncertainty in our reliance on satellite imagery for assessing marine productivity
Knowledge gained and data sets archived will aid in planning of industry and management strategies for the region and contribute to enhanced sustainability in economic development. We trained over 30 early-career researchers (ECRs) at the interface of ecology, technology, industry, and management to benefit the trainee and society.
Environmentally sustainable industry operations require comprehensive ecosystem understanding, safe and effective monitoring technologies, and a reliable data archive for assessing risk and driving management strategies. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in sensitive Arctic regions where the knowledge base is incomplete, operational risk is high, and databases are fragmented and not user-friendly. POLARFRONT will conduct multi-seasonal, high-resolution studies of distribution, productivity, and food-web dynamics across a wide size-spectrum of the pelagic community, from bacteria to whales. We will work in the Polar Front region of the Barents Sea, an area known to have disproportionally high ecological value and sensitivity, and one that marks the approximate southern boundary of the seasonal ice zone. We will complement shipboard sampling and experimental approaches with autonomous sampling technology to broaden the ecological context of point measurements, and to test the utility of these novel monitoring methods under challenging conditions, including the Polar Night. Since the Polar Front is known to act as a distributional boundary, an area of enhanced production, and an important feeding area for plankton, fish, seabirds and mammals, our ecological studies will focus on these topics. We will pay particular attention to species of key ecosystem and management importance: polar cod, capelin, and migratory whales and dolphins. Our digitalization strategy includes conforming to national and international data management standards, as well as developing flexible software solutions to format data for direct input into risk assessment, ecological, and management modelling systems. We also spend considerable effort on visualization and communication of both data and scientific results for all end-users. Close cooperation with industry and other stakeholders throughout the project assures relevance and availability of results.
