Tracking algae and climate change from the sky with Arctic AIR

A specialized plane, camera, and a crew of four are in Alaska to understand the ecosystems of the Bering and Chukchi seas. Jiaxu Zhang is a research scientist at the University of Washington. For the last four summers, she’s brought a team of researchers to Nome for the Arctic Airborne Investigations and Research project. Or Arctic AIR, for short.

“Arctic AIR does all sorts of research, ranging from physical oceanography to sea ice surveys to phytoplankton studies and remote sensing. And sometimes we also onboard some observers to do some marine mammal surveys,” Zhang said.

Zhang said one of the team’s main objectives is to monitor algal blooms. Algae is a critical part of the ocean’s ecosystem, but species like Alexandrium Catenella can be harmful to human health and marine ecosystems. Zhang said data collected by Arctic AIR is used in research tracking the growth of algae in the arctic.

“Buoys are, like, our fingertips in the ocean. Like you want to sense what’s going on in the ocean, and you can’t physically be there all the time,” Nawaz said. “So, we send out buoys, in our stead, to collect data about the ocean and how it’s changing.”

Arctic AIR’s team flies aboard NOAA’s De Havilland DHC-6-300 — also called the “Twin Otter.” Sean Cheng is one of the Twin Otter’s pilots, he said the aircraft is designed to fly at a slower air speed.

Zhang and Nawaz both stressed that their work on a broader scale is observing the changing climate. Nawaz said she’s thrilled to be part of Arctic AIR.

“I feel honored that I can be part of, like, this mission of looking at what has changed, and how can we help humanity live in a changing climate?” Nawaz said.

Zhang said the project is an open science platform where other researchers can hop on to test instruments and survey ideas. This year’s expedition had the team stopping in Prudhoe Bay, Nome, and then Kotzebue. They will wrap up in late September.