Inaugural Lecture by Professor Ken Ryan
The impacts of environmental change on sea ice communities in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
Description
Sea ice covers vast areas of the Southern Ocean. It looks bleak, cold and lifeless. But it hosts a profusion of microorganisms, including phytoplankton and bacteria, that are a crucial food store for marine life in polar oceans. Because they endure many challenging and localised stresses, sea-ice microbes are the proverbial 'canary-in-the-coal-mine' and provide a fascinating insight into future environmental change.
Professor Ken Ryan from the School of Biological Sciences will summarise three decades of climate change research on sea-ice microbial communities, bringing together research by his postgraduate students and international colleagues.