Clara Hoppe

So the traditional thinking was very much when there is no light, there can't be active light. So what people have assumed is happening is that these cells hibernate. So they are in a resting stage. Some of them form actual resting spores that are very durable. And then they can overwinter, for example, in the sea ice.

So those resting stages can be frozen into the sea ice in the fall and then be stuck in the sea ice and then get released in the spring when the sun comes back. That was a very traditional way of thinking of microalgae up there in the high north. Is it almost like hibernation?

So those resting stages can be frozen into the sea ice in the fall and then be stuck in the sea ice and then get released in the spring when the sun comes back. That was a very traditional way of thinking of microalgae up there in the high north. Is it almost like hibernation?

So those resting stages can be frozen into the sea ice in the fall and then be stuck in the sea ice and then get released in the spring when the sun comes back. That was a very traditional way of thinking of microalgae up there in the high north. Is it almost like hibernation?

So the light comes back and the light serves as a cue to emerge from this resting stage, from their little cave. And then they can continue photosynthesizing and dividing. And there are algae, microalgae that actually do that. It's just that it's not all of them.

So the light comes back and the light serves as a cue to emerge from this resting stage, from their little cave. And then they can continue photosynthesizing and dividing. And there are algae, microalgae that actually do that. It's just that it's not all of them.

So the light comes back and the light serves as a cue to emerge from this resting stage, from their little cave. And then they can continue photosynthesizing and dividing. And there are algae, microalgae that actually do that. It's just that it's not all of them.

So when we looked at them in the microscope, we saw that they were active vegetative cells so they were loaded with chlorophyll so the chlorophyll is the pigment that is used for photosynthesis and it's a big costly compound in the cell so we would have expected that they wouldn't invest energy into into this pigment in a period where they can't use it okay that makes sense

So when we looked at them in the microscope, we saw that they were active vegetative cells so they were loaded with chlorophyll so the chlorophyll is the pigment that is used for photosynthesis and it's a big costly compound in the cell so we would have expected that they wouldn't invest energy into into this pigment in a period where they can't use it okay that makes sense

So when we looked at them in the microscope, we saw that they were active vegetative cells so they were loaded with chlorophyll so the chlorophyll is the pigment that is used for photosynthesis and it's a big costly compound in the cell so we would have expected that they wouldn't invest energy into into this pigment in a period where they can't use it okay that makes sense

So seeing them so ready to photosynthesize suggested to me that You know, they were in this physiologically active stage and not in this resting stage.

So seeing them so ready to photosynthesize suggested to me that You know, they were in this physiologically active stage and not in this resting stage.

So seeing them so ready to photosynthesize suggested to me that You know, they were in this physiologically active stage and not in this resting stage.

So on a weekly basis, we sampled the microalgae in the water column. So in the water under the ice and then in the ice itself. So we took water samples and we drilled cores out of the ice flow to study which algae are there and in which physiological state.

So on a weekly basis, we sampled the microalgae in the water column. So in the water under the ice and then in the ice itself. So we took water samples and we drilled cores out of the ice flow to study which algae are there and in which physiological state.

So on a weekly basis, we sampled the microalgae in the water column. So in the water under the ice and then in the ice itself. So we took water samples and we drilled cores out of the ice flow to study which algae are there and in which physiological state.

Yeah. So the water sampling initially happened mostly at a hole next to the ship, which was very convenient because then the samples were directly on the boat. But then in beginning of March, we had a lot of dynamics in the ice and And it destroyed our hole. So we couldn't sample anymore. And then we moved to Ocean City, which existed throughout the whole winter.

Yeah. So the water sampling initially happened mostly at a hole next to the ship, which was very convenient because then the samples were directly on the boat. But then in beginning of March, we had a lot of dynamics in the ice and And it destroyed our hole. So we couldn't sample anymore. And then we moved to Ocean City, which existed throughout the whole winter.

Yeah. So the water sampling initially happened mostly at a hole next to the ship, which was very convenient because then the samples were directly on the boat. But then in beginning of March, we had a lot of dynamics in the ice and And it destroyed our hole. So we couldn't sample anymore. And then we moved to Ocean City, which existed throughout the whole winter.

But it meant us dragging hundreds and hundreds of liters of water over the flow of... up the gangway and into the labs. So it was really, you know, us pulling those buckets and buckets of water on little pulkas, little sledges behind us through the snowstorm to the boat. So it was a lot of physical work involved getting those samples.