SAMS news room

New project to investigate Arctic plankton dynamics

The Research Council of Norway is funding a major new international research project to investigate the vertical migration rhythms of Arctic zooplankton called "Circadian rhythms of Arctic zooplankton from polar twilight to polar night – patterns, processes, and ecosystem implications (CircA)”.

Click here to read the full story from The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) who are the lead partner in this project.

The SAMS contribution to CircA is based on the hydrographic and circadian rhythm related expertise of Drs Kim Last and Finlo Cottier, and the continued maintenance of two moorings: SAMS has been operating a mooring in Kongsfjorden since April 2002 and one in Rijpfjorden since 2006. Data from these moorings have contributed to papers in physical oceanography, palaeoceanography and zooplankton dynamics.  Recently there has been a strong focus on vertical migration patterns with papers by Cottier, Berge and Last and colleagues at St Andrews (Brierley) and BAS (Tarling). 

The new project at UNIS is a spin-off from a NERC small-grant (Pan-Arcive) which is examining records of vertical migration from across the Arctic.

Close links have developed between our scientists and the UNIS Physical Oceanography group led by Frank Nilsen and the UNIS Biology Group headed by Jorgen Berge.  In 2007-8 Professor Berge spent a year's sabbatical at the Scottish Marine Institute.  The collaboration is further strengthened by our undergraduate students some of which are studying at UNIS as part of their UHI Degree.