Nitrogen Cycling in the Arctic Ocean: insights from nitrate stable isotopes (Goldschmidt)
Antonia Doncila
The University of Edinburgh, School of Geosciences
Goldschmidt 2018 has been an incredible experience, a great chance to network with my peers and meet other researchers working in my study area or employing similar techniques in other parts of the world. Every day, during the conference I attended presentations which were relevant to my research like: ‘On the origin of the deep N deficit in Baffin Bay: Insights from isotopic signatures of nitrate’ or ‘ The Transpolar Drift Influence on the Silicon cycle in the Arctic Ocean’ or ‘Greenland-sourced freshwater traced by radiogenic Neodymium Isotopes and Rare Earth Elements on the North-East Greenland Shelf’. These are just a few of the presentations whose authors I got to meet and we started discussions about innovative ways we could bring our research together.
My poster presentation was scheduled for the 15thof August, between 17:15 and 19:15 and was very successful. There I got the chance to present my work, on the role of Arctic shelves in the oxygenation of the Deep Arctic basins, to a broad range of scientists, from researchers working with isotopes to detect earth-like planets to researchers who have been working on the same transect as I did (collected during the German Geotraces Campaign 2015- PS94). This gave us the opportunity to analyse the whole Geotraces 2015 dataset and discuss what the different biogeochemical tracers are telling us about the Deep Arctic and its connectivity to the Arctic shelves as well as to update each other on the current research cruises that are taking place in the Arctic and on the future research projects developing in our study area.
During my poster presentation, another interesting encounter was with the research team working in the WANKEL Stable Isotope lab at Woods Hole (WHOI), which gave me the opportunity to contrast and compare the laboratory protocols I use in my project with theirs. This lead to fruitful conversations that benefited both parties and can potentially serve as solutions for future problems encountered in the lab while working with denitrifier bacteria.
The generous financial aid offered by the Challenger Society was recognized in the Acknowledgements section and by using the Challenger Society logo in the top right corner of my poster. This travel grant enabled me to experience a big, international conference, meet researchers who up until now I only knew from reading their papers, present my work, start new collaborations and last but not least, do all this invaluable scientific networking in a beautiful city, Boston.
Awardee Profile:
I am a 2ndyear PhD student researching the changing Arctic Ocean using stable isotopes of N and O. My aim is to gain a better understanding of the cycling of growth-limiting nutrients in the Arctic Ocean and how these are impacted by sea-ice melt. Ultimately, my goal is to build a isotopically constrained budget of nitrogen in the Arctic and examine the exports of nitrogen from the Arctic into the North Atlantic.
Latest News
Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset
The Marine Environmental Data and Information Network (MEDIN) and OceanWise are delighted to invite you to attend our popular free online training workshop: ‘Marine Data Management, Governance and the MEDIN toolset’ on the 19th – 23rd of May 2025.
Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk