Polar ecosystems: Climate change and other threats
5:30 – 7:00 pm MST
The Arctic and Antarctic are undergoing rapid systemic change, expressed in reductions in glaciers, ice shelves, ice sheets, sea ice mass, snow cover, permafrost, and amplified atmospheric warming relative to lower latitudes. The associated rate of change is unprecedented in polar oceans, the atmosphere and cryosphere, and will immensely impact the polar ecosystems, from primary producers to fish to top predators and Indigenous communities.
In this NSF NCAR Explorer Series lecture, we explore ways in which Earth System Models (ESM) are being used to investigate polar ecosystem change. We also discuss possible implications for people and animals in these regions and discuss implications for policy to help protect vulnerable species.
Kristen Krumhardt
Kristen Krumhardt is a Project Scientist in the Oceanography section of the Climate and Global Dynamics laboratory at NSF NCAR. She works on modeling biology in the ocean, specifically phytoplankton and zooplankton dynamics, and contributes to development of the ocean ecosystem model in the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Her research is mainly focused on analyzing how climate change and variability influence phytoplankton communities and how this may impact higher trophic levels. Kristen also enjoys doing scientific art and illustrations.
Alice DuVivier
Alice DuVivier is a Project Scientist in the Paleo-Polar Climate section of the Climate and Global Dynamics laboratory at NSF NCAR. Her work focuses on the polar regions and how the climate is changing. She uses the Community Earth System Model (CESM) to investigate physical processes and the changing climate in the Arctic and Antarctic. Her interests include understanding exchanges of energy and moisture between the sea ice, atmosphere, and ocean. She also investigates how the changing polar regions will affect natural ecosystems and the people living and working in these regions. Alice enjoys getting outside and enjoying nature.
Both Alice and Kristen are participating in the Rising Voices, Changing Coasts (RVCC) project that aims to merge Earth system science with Indigenous knowledge. They also each collaborate on projects focused on understanding polar marine ecosystems, such as examining variability and changes in food resources for Antarctic marine predators like penguins or how Arctic phytoplankton are changing. Kristen also has projects outside polar regions, including one tailoring CESM ocean and ecosystem data for National Marine Sanctuaries around the United States. While she mainly uses CESM computer data, Alice has gone on short trips to the polar regions several times for different projects.