ICESCAPE (Impacts of Climate on EcoSystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment) is a program sponsored by NASA study the impacts of climate change on the Arctic
The ICECAPE researchers who discovered the rich plankton environment did not expect to see any under-ice blooms
The NASA ocean biology and biogeochemistry program manager, Paula Bontempi, says that their discovery is “like finding the Amazon rainforest in the middle of the Mojave desert”
These giant plankton blooms spanned 100kilometres (62 miles) underneath one ice pack
Ice packs were four times biologically richer than the surrounding ice-free arctic water
Plankton was able to survive off the sunlight that was magnified through the pools of melted ice above the pack and into the waters below
Under-ice plankton blooms were able to reproduce quicker than their open water counterparts: they can double their numbers more than once a day instead of the two to three days the others took
Researchers are unsure as to how long this under-ice plankton has been around, or if they will continue to flourish as the older, thicker ice is replaced, due to climate change, with the young, thin ice that allows light to pass through more easily
Plankton is essential to life in the ocean and can also help to trap carbon dioxide (CO2)
Want to read more? Click here to see the full story: Massive algae bloom in Arctic like “finding the Amazon rainforest in the Mojave Desert