ICESCAPE is a highly interdisciplinary program that combines field-based observations of Arctic Ocean biology and biogeochemistry with state-of-the-art satellite remote sensing and numerical modeling activities. Together, these three approaches afford the potential to substantially broaden our understanding of Arctic Ocean ecosystems.

The field component of ICESCAPE will add critical new insights into the optical properties of the sea ice and upper ocean as well as into rates of biogeochemical transformations within the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles. Moreover, it will add significantly to the currently sparse datasets that are sorely needed to develop improved algorithms for detecting ecosystem changes in both the sea ice and the open ocean and for developing improved models.

High quality long-term satellite observations of sea ice cover, ocean color, and sea surface temperature will allow us characterize ongoing changes in the Arctic Ocean and to interpret our field observations in a broader spatial and temporal context.

New numerical ecosystem models that are parameterized using data collected in the field will be used as a tool to both understand how these systems operate and predict how these systems might respond to future environmental changes.