Biogeochemical processes in polar ecosystems

What BIOPOLE does

BIOPOLE studies how climate change is affecting the release of nutrients from the polar regions, and their redistribution around the world’s oceans.

It looks at how these changes affect ocean life and carbon storage at the poles and the global ocean.

Why this matters

The polar regions are warming faster than anywhere else. Sea ice is retreating, glaciers are melting and species from outside the poles are moving in. 

These changes affect how nutrients are supplied, and then processed by zooplankton, in the polar oceans. This matters because: 

• nutrients from the poles drive much of the productivity in other oceans 
• marine food stocks, like krill and fish, depend on these nutrients 
• absorption of carbon by organisms in the oceans helps regulate atmospheric CO₂ 

The supply of nutrients to the polar oceans comes from glaciers, sea ice, ocean currents and circulation, and rivers. Polar ecosystems process these nutrients in unique ways, creating a surplus that supports life far beyond the poles. 

Rapid climate change could alter both the supply and processing of these nutrients. Our ability to predict these changes is limited because current Earth System Models (ESMs) –  computer models that simulate how the Earth’s chemical, biological and physical process all work together – don’t represent polar processes well. 

In addition, ocean productivity (the rate at which ocean organisms transform sunlight into organic matter) is valued at around $6.9 trillion. The capacity of the oceans to absorb carbon is valued at around $4.3 trillion. There is still large uncertainty about how climate change will affect these roles.  

Our approach

BIOPOLE combines data collection, new analyses and computer simulations to improve how we measure, understand and predict nutrient supply and processing in the polar regions. 

Research teams are: 

• collecting data at both poles to track nutrients from their sources to the open ocean 
• using expeditions on land and sea, alongside autonomous vehicles, to collect data over longer periods and wider areas 
• studying how polar species process elements using advanced experimental and observational techniques 
• improving ESMs so they better reflect polar biogeochemical and ecosystem processes 

Who is involved

BIOPOLE is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through the National Capability Science Multi-Centre award scheme (NC-SM2).

Partners include:

• British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
• National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
• UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH)
• British Geological Survey (BGS)
• Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM)

Learn More

Early-career scientists Emily Rowlands, Laura Taylor, and Kat Turner joined the Iceworld podcast to explain the significance of the BIOPOLE project – and the connections between Antarctica’s ecosystems, nutrients, ice, and the major role that the ocean plays in absorbing carbon from Earth’s atmosphere.

BIOPOLE will address three major questions:

1. What physical, chemical and biological processes modify nutrient balance en route from source to polar ocean ecosystem, and what are their sensitivities to climate change?
2. What is the influence of ecosystem processes on nutrient balance and movement of carbon to depth in the polar oceans, and how may these change in the future?
3. How may this movement of carbon to depth and the export of nutrients change in the future and what impacts will this have on global ocean fish stocks and the global carbon cycle?

Testing project impact tab and content

External Collaborators

Adrian Martin – NOC centre lead (WP3 co-lead)

Bryan Spears – CEH centre lead (WP1 co-lead)

Dan Mayor – University of Exeter (WP2 executive adviser)

Stuart Painter – NOC (WP2 co-lead)

Melanie Lang – BGS centre lead

Andrew Shepherd – CPOM centre lead

1. Breaking records and exploring life in the abyss

   We are on board to test the RRS Sir David Attenborough’s deep sea sampling capabilities and to collect samples for the BIOPOLE project.

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1. Mission to Antarctica seeks answers to critical questions about nutrients and carbon

   Scientists return to the Southern Ocean this week (5 February 2025), as part of the BIOPOLE project, to answer fundamental questions about how nutrients drive the global carbon cycle and ocean ecosystems.

   Read more of: Mission to Antarctica seeks answers to critical questions about nutrients and carbon

   

2. Sounds of Antarctica come to life in new album

   Today marks the release of The Seventh Continent, a new album from the international Sounds of Space Project that offers a unique aural journey to Antarctica.

   Read more of: Sounds of Antarctica come to life in new album

   

3. RRS Sir David Attenborough samples A23a iceberg during climate science mission

   Scientists aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough collected samples of seawater around the A23a mega iceberg, the largest iceberg in the world.

   Read more of: RRS Sir David Attenborough samples A23a iceberg during climate science mission

   

4. First Antarctic research mission on polar ship

   A team of international researchers set sail on the RRS Sir David Attenborough today (20 November) to answer some of the big questions about how Antarctic ecosystems and sea ice drive global ocean cycles of carbon and nutrients.

   Read more of: First Antarctic research mission on polar ship

   

5. 2023-2024 field season begins for British Antarctic Survey

   The Antarctic field season has started, with over 600 people beginning the journey South to work on over 60 projects on station and in the field.

   Read more of: 2023-2024 field season begins for British Antarctic Survey

   

6. Poet Laureate visits UK Arctic Research Station

   The UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage CBE has travelled to the UK Arctic Research Station, where he will create new works inspired by the visit. While hosted at the UK […]

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7. First images of giant iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf

   ANTARCTICA – 13 March 2023. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has released the first aerial pictures of the massive A81 iceberg that calved from the Brunt Ice Shelf in late January. […]

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8. Funding addresses environmental challenges

   British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists will investigate critical challenges facing the UK, thanks to new funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). A £47m investment to several UK research […]

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1. RRS Sir David Attenborough

   Our state-of-the-art polar science ship provides scientists access to remote and challenging marine environments across the Antarctic and Arctic.

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2. UK Arctic Research Station

   The UK’s only Arctic Research Station, also known as ‘Harland-Cox Huset’, is situation in the international research community of Ny-Ålesund, on Svalbard.

   Read more of: UK Arctic Research Station