The FjordPhyto Project: Citizen Science in the Antarctic

FjordPhyto (www.fjordphyto.org) is a Citizen Science project relying on data collected by travelers as they visit coastal regions along the Antarctic Peninsula throughout the austral summer. Participants aboard cruise expedition vessels contribute directly to scientific research by sampling phytoplankton—the microscopic organisms forming the base of the marine food web. This ongoing data collection, started in 2016, helps researchers understand how the changing environment influences phytoplankton populations and the broader polar coastal ecosystem, providing insights into the impacts of warming temperatures on this unique environment.

Every season the FjordPhyto team provides extensive online and in-person training to their partner operator vessels and cruise expedition staff members to ensure confidence in facilitating participant engagement in hands-on scientific sampling sessions while on expedition. As the vessels explore the Peninsula, they visit different locations repeatedly during the season, building up a long-term seasonal time series. These sampling sessions involve collecting phytoplankton (net and bottle samples) and oceanographic measurements (CTD and Secchi) from designated sites. Additionally, information is gathered on the participant experience to understand the impact the project has on travelers. This project has a big educational component on board in which passengers learn from guides about phytoplankton, the importance of polar research and collaborative data collection approaches, as well as the impact climate change has on the base of the food web each season and the importance of long-term monitoring and conservation. All collected data and samples are then coordinated for transfer back to the FjordPhyto team for processing and analysis. Read more about the FjordPhyto project and what has been discovered on the website visit www.fjordphyto.org today!