University of Miami professor David Kadko has been selected to head an expedition in the Arctic Ocean that could lead to a better understanding of the effects of global climate change.
The expedition, which is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2015, is a U.S. Arctic GEOTRACES initiative established by the U.S. GEOTRACES Science Steering Committee (SSC).
The initiative, which Kadko will lead, will include scientists from several nations, who will work to sample the Arctic Ocean using icebreakers that are expected to initially be provided by the United States and Germany.
These samples will be used to study how the carbon levels, geochemical cycles, and ecosystems in the Arctic will respond to rapidly changing climate conditions.
“Significantly, the data we gather will help us to model feedback mechanisms and future trajectories of Arctic change we may face with ongoing shifts in climate that may impact us, regardless of whether we live near the Arctic or as far away as Miami,” said Kadko, a professor and the chair of marine and atmospheric chemistry at UM’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
According to Kadko, the expedition will be the first of its size to conduct coordinated experiments in the Arctic Ocean.