The research focused on understanding how marine biodiversity is affected by this phenomenon, with a particular emphasis on calcifying planktonic organisms, which play an essential role in regulating atmospheric CO2 and seawater chemistry. These organisms, which form calcium carbonate shells, are highly sensitive to ocean acidification and climate change.
From August to September, the research vessel 'Sarmiento de Gamboa' traveled from Vigo, Spain, to Reykjavik, Iceland, conducting extensive sampling through the Azores and Svalbard archipelagos. This route provided an opportunity to analyze waters from subtropical to polar regions in the North Atlantic and South Arctic Oceans.
During the expedition, the team collected water and sediment samples and conducted in-situ experiments to assess marine biodiversity, species distribution, and their role in the carbon cycle. A central focus was placed on calcifying plankton and their responses to shifting environmental conditions. The evidence gathered revealed how "atlantification" is altering water properties and pelagic ecosystems across diverse latitudes.
"The intrusion of Atlantic waters is turning the Arctic into an ocean that is becoming warmer and less saline due to the accelerated melting of ice. In addition, this intrusion is rapidly changing the marine ecosystems and species distribution of the Arctic," explains Patrizia Ziveri, oceanographer at ICTA-UAB and chief scientist of the campaign.
In Svalbard, researchers observed the presence of calcifying plankton species such as coccolithophores, shelled pteropods, and foraminifera at the northern edge of their typical ranges. These observations coincided with higher-than-average surface temperatures for August and September over the past two decades. The campaign's wide-ranging study across subtropical and polar regions provided a comprehensive picture of how climate change is reshaping the biogeography of key calcifying species.
The findings underscore the significant threat to marine biodiversity posed by climate change. While the loss of biodiversity among large marine species is relatively well-studied, this project highlights the pressing need to understand the effects on smaller organisms and the food web as a whole. Changes such as ocean warming, acidification, stratification, and deoxygenation are creating cascading effects on marine ecosystems, affecting everything from plankton to fish populations.
The team also explored biogeochemical processes influenced by climate change and assessed the spread of pollutants in marine environments.
This multidisciplinary expedition brought together oceanographers, biologists, geologists, and environmental scientists from ICTA-UAB, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of Oxford, and Rowan University. The campaign was organized and led by ICTA-UAB's Marine and Environmental Biogeosciences Research Group (MERS), with key contributors including Patrizia Ziveri, Michael Grelaud, Stephanie Birnstiel, Arturo Lucas, Thais Peixoto Macedo, Athina Kakelou, Fernando Ruiz, and Meryem Upson (a visiting student from Utrecht University).
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