Eva Lopes, is taking part in the scientific expedition on board the Japan Agency Marine-Earth Science and Technology research vessel Mirai.
Eva Lopes, a researcher at CIIMAR-UP and a student at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP), is taking part in the scientific expedition aboard the Japan Agency Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) research vessel Mirai, with the aim of understanding the effects of the increase in Pacific heat flow on the diversity and functions of Arctic plankton.
This is the second time that Eva Lopes, a researcher from CIIMAR’s Microbiome Ecology and Biogeochemistry team and a PhD student in FCUP’s “Science, Technology and Management of the Sea” doctoral program, has taken part in this campaign, through the projects N-MicroARCTIC – The Nitrogen Microbiome in a Changing Arctic – and ARCTICEDGE – Decipher Climate Change Impacts on the Plankton Microbiome at the Transition from the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Polar Program.
The work on board
As in 2023, this year Eva Lopes will collect water samples at two depths: where chlorophyll reaches its maximum value, and at the maximum depth of each station. Using these samples, supported by knowledge of dynamic environments such as the Bering Strait, Barrow Canyon and the Canadian Basin, the effects of increased Pacific heat flow on the diversity and functions of Arctic plankton can be analyzed, with a special focus on the nitrogen cycle.
According to Eva Lopes, “this work will shed light on the diversity and functions of microplankton, highlighting their vital role in the stability of the Arctic Ocean in the context of climate crises.” As well as reinforcing her doctoral work, this set of samples will “increase the team’s knowledge of climate change in the microbial communities of the Arctic Ocean,” explains the researcher.
