![]() “Organisms seek darkness,” says marine ecologist Jørgen Berge at UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, who has led a series of winter expeditions to this region aboard the Helmer Hanssen. The combined changes mean that increasing levels of light are seeping into the Arctic Ocean, even during winter, which could forever alter the ecosystem that has evolved to take advantage of the darkness.Ī ctenophore, or comb jelly, is one of the zooplankton found in the waters off of Svalbard. ![]() At the same time, the retreat of the ice pack has opened routes for shipping, tourist cruises and coastal development that all add light pollution to the region. Over the past four decades, the region has warmed nearly four times faster than the rest of the planet 1, and its winter coating of sea ice is thinning rapidly, which means there is less ice throughout spring and summer. Researchers are eager to get answers, because the Arctic is changing rapidly. I joined this international team of scientists on its cruise in January as they tested new ways to monitor ocean life in the Arctic night - without altering its behaviour. They mate and incubate eggs in the darkness - and all that activity plays a crucial part in fuelling the Arctic’s massive explosion of rebirth each spring.īut researchers eventually recognized they had a problem: how to study the wintertime exploits of ocean life that depends on darkness. A series of discoveries has shown that even in the absence of sunlight and food, some zooplankton thrive throughout the winter. The R/V Helmer Hanssen turned off its white deck lights at times so researchers could assess how artificial illumination alters the behaviour of marine life during the darkness of polar winter. That was the conventional wisdom, at least. Without sunlight to power the growth of photosynthetic plankton, there would be nothing to eat for the larger zooplankton, which are the primary source of food for seabirds and fish. Scientists thought that most of the region’s marine ecosystem shut down throughout the months-long darkness of polar night. Until 2007, it wouldn’t have seemed profitable to stage an oceanographic biology expedition in midwinter. This is a new frontier for Arctic researchers. It is the ideal way to study marine organisms that exploit darkness and cold as few other forms of life can. Gliding through inky waters, our captain suddenly shuts off every exterior light on the ship and we become invisible, a maritime phantom. For more than a dozen researchers on this two-week voyage, the mission is simple but profound: to disappear. The Northern Lights dance across the horizon in emerald and lavender ribbons as the R/V Helmer Hanssen cruises through one of the darkest regions of the planet in the heart of winter.
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