'Ocean Break' Seminar Discusses Cold Infiltrations in the Arctic

Published in 13/4/2023

This edition of 'Ocean Break', a series of seminars related to research on the sea made at CESAM, takes place on April 14 (Friday), between 12:30 and 13:30 in the amphitheater 9.1.1 (DEMaC).   

Researcher Sofia Ramalho (CESAM/DBIO) will talk about biodiversity associated with cold sources in the Arctic. 

According to the researcher: Cold seeps are the areas of the ocean floor where hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs. Based on chemosynthetic primary production, cold seeps typically host a high biomass of specialized organisms, but there are some indications that this might not be the case for polar regions. It is critical to fill knowledge gaps regarding the biodiversity of cold seeps communities in the Arctic, particularly when considering the cumulative impacts of human activities and climate change (e.g., range shifts or changes in currents impacting larval dispersal).

As part of the multidisciplinary project AKMA several cold seeps have been surveyed in the last years to investigate the biodiversity of sites with varying geological and biogeochemical settings and preliminary observations demonstrate that there is much we still do not understand about the ecology of the Arctic cold seeps. Together with the scientific goals, this project used a “traditional” communication media in a science communication action with classrooms all over Europe.

This seminar is a joint organization between three CESAM research groups: CDEC (Ecology and Conservation of Coastal and Deep Sea Ecosystems), MBA (Marine Biotechnology and Aquaculture), POMG (Physical Oceanography and Marine Geology).

Admission is free to all interested.