ANR MARGO

Understanding the consequences of melting ice caps on the biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean (SO) presents a major scientific hurdle for predicting the influence of global warming on ecosystem functioning.

The most pressing open questions are the rates of ice melt in future scenarios, and the corresponding amount of elements delivered to the ocean. Not all chemical forms of elements produced by melting and weathering of glaciers will reach the ocean and not all are equally available to micro-organisms.

Quantifying the bioavailable forms that will eventually enter the ocean and impact biogeochemical cycles remains a scientific and technical challenge, requiring innovative approaches at the boundaries of geochemistry and microbiology. In addition, conducting land and sea expeditions to remote and difficult regions of the AO requires accessible sites and appropriate logistical support for sample collection and long-term monitoring.

The multidisciplinary expertise of the MARGO consortium, covering the fields of glaciology, freshwater and marine geochemistry and microbiology, and previous expeditions to these regions, which have taken advantage of the appropriate terrestrial and marine infrastructure, will provide unique results on the hydrological, geochemical and microbial processes that occur along the glacier-ocean continuum.