Please note that this session was withdrawn and is no longer available in the respective programme. This withdrawal might have been the result of a merge with another session.
BG6.1 | Cryobiomes in a warming world
Cryobiomes in a warming world
Convener: Christoph KeuschnigECSECS | Co-conveners: Katie SipesECSECS, Helen FeordECSECS
Cryosphere habitats support biomes adapted to harsh periodic, physical changes as freeze-thaw events in different frequencies are a key feature of these ecosystems. These alternating states make cryobiomes uniquely vulnerable to a warmer climate, as they face dramatic changes such as longer summer periods where melted water is available or the disappearance and complete physical change of their habitat.
The proposed session will provide a stage for research on how functions of cryobiomes are influenced by these changes and in turn the consequences of this process to currently observed and projected ecosystem evolution. This includes a range of topics with global impact from the disappearance of permafrost soil and connected accelerating ‘Arctic greening’ over rapid changes of pH in Arctic oceans and their relation to sea ice communities to the increased melt of glaciers by an accumulating pigmented glacier surface microbiome.