CoastalRunoff - The effect of land-runoff on Antarctic and Subantarctic Coasts
We aim to quantify freshwater and sedimentary discharge from marine glacial outflows to improve understanding of increasing meltwater release on potential marine and terrestrial habitat change at Antarctic and Subantarctic Coats (South-Patagonian Fjords and West Antarctic Peninsula).
Glacier melt and retreat are a significant influence of anthropogenic Climate Change on antarctic and subantarctic coastal habitats. As a consequence, increasing amounts of organic and inorganic matter are transported to the marine realm which is known to shape and potentially alter the highly diverse benthic communities. We expect a strong connectivity between terrestrial and marine environments, where transport of organic matter and nutrients is further promoted by marine mammals and seabirds. However, directions and pathways of organic matter exchange between the marine and terrestrial realm, are little understood, let alone quantified. Therefore, we aim to
- use drone-based remote sensing, linked to in situ measurements of water column properties, to map marine and terrestrial glacial outflow areas and survey erosional processes
- quantify marine and terrestrial nutrient flows and identify source and sink areas using seabird tracking techniques
- map implications for sediment and landscape stability by opportunistic vegetation succession in deglaciated areas
- apply spatial modelling to classify coastal characteristics
SIGMA is integrated in POF-IV in subtopic 4.2.