Rapid warming of the Arctic will profoundly influence the cycling of elements: Melting of frozen soils will liberate carbon and nutrients, and decreasing cover of sea-ice will increase primary production. Less obvious, yet important, impacts include stimulation of primary production due to intrusion of meltwater from below tidal glaciers, or changes in the iron cycle as melting cause glaciers to no longer terminate at sea but instead terminate on land. We study arctic biogeochemistry in its contemporary form to be able to predict how the warming climate will affect the microbially-driven nutrient cycles that lie at the basis of the arctic ecosystem.
