Microbial communities in ice over methane sources: a comparative study. RiS ID: 10341

The fieldwork is an integral part of my PhD project, which aims at understanding the microbiological role of the ice forming above Arctic emerged cold seeps in mitigating methane release. This fieldwork project includes sampling both terrestrial pingos in Svalbard (of which Lagoon Pingo, Adventdalen) and sea ice in front of two retreating marine terminating glaciers (Fritjovbreen, Paulabreen) to conduct a comparative study of their microbiology. Sampling both terrestrial and sea ice will allow to investigate the effects of geochemistry and physical structure of the ice on the settlement of microbial communities in the ice growing above a chemical energy source (methane). The project will test the hypothesis that the ice growing above a methane source hosts active microbial communities, and that the settlement of these communities is dependent on the residence time of the methane, ice structure and water source geochemistry.