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PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum

Polar Front ecosystem studies using novel autonomous technologies: Knowledge for environmental management and assessing ecological risk

Alternative title: Økosystemstudier av Polarfronten med bruk av autonome teknologier: Kunnskap for miljøforvaltereog vurdering av økologiskerisiko

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

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 and active involvement of industry and management bodies throughout the project assures results will be relevant and accessible to end-users.

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.

Publications from Cristin

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Funding scheme:

PETROMAKS2-Stort program petroleum