CATS – The Changing Arctic Transpolar System

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With the joint Russian-German research project „CATS – The Changing Arctic Transpolar System“ (March 1, 2017 - February 29, 2020), a consortium of 10 research institutions and universities in Russia and Germany investigated how climate change will affect the highly sensitive Arctic environment and to what extent these changes may impact the climate in Europe. The main research region are the western Laptev Sea shelf and continental slope, Vilkitsky Strait and Cape Baranov (Severnaya Zemlya), located in the Russian EEZ. This topographically complex region features strong polynyas, sea-ice formation, and a variety of shelf processes that impact the circulation and water masses of the Arctic Boundary Current near the region of origin of the Transpolar Drift Stream. The Arctic Boundary Current transports a large amount of heat along the continental slope, which could potentially melt the entire Arctic sea-ice cover if released to the surface.

German project leader:

Dr. Heidemarie Kassens
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research

Russian project leader:

Prof. Dr. Vladimir Ivanov
FSBI Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Project duration:1 March 2017 – 29 February 2020

Funding bodies:

Federal Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMBF)
Ministry of Science and Education of the Russian Federation

Members of the project consortium

Partner organization	Principal investigator
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (coordinating institute from the German side)	Dr. Heidemarie Kassens
FSBI Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg (coordinating institute from the Russian side)	Dr. Vladimir Ivanov
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven	Prof. Dr. Torsten Kanzow
Christian Albrechts University Kiel	Prof. Dr. Dieter Piepenburg
Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences	Dr. Yaroslav Ovsepyan
Hamburg University	Prof. Dr. Lars Kaleschke / Prof. Dr. Thomas Pohlmann
Mainz Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Literature	Dr. Robert Spielhagen
Lomonosov Moscow State University	Dr. Ekaterina Taldenkova
Trier University	Univ-Prof. Dr. Günther Heinemann

Work packages and tasks

Work package

Title and scientists in charge

Tasks (task coordinator)

WP 1

Dynamics of physical processes in Siberian shelf seas and their impact on the transpolar system

Dr. Jens Hölemann / Dr. Vladimir Ivanov

Task A: Hydrography and watermass formation in the Laptev Sea (TRANSDRIFT XXIV, XXV) (Mikhail Makhotin)

Task B: The shelf-edge system: influence of shelf processes on the Arctic Boundary Current (TRANSDRIFT XXIV, XXV) (Dr. Markus Janout)

Task C: Hydrodynamic modeling of changes in sea ice and their impact on ocean dynamics (Dr. Vladimir Ivanov)

WP 2

Changes of atmosphere/sea-ice/ocean interactions and their impact on the transpolar system

Dr. Aleksandr Makshtas / Univ.-Prof. Dr. Günther Heinemann

Task A: Processes in the atmospheric boundary layer of the high Arctic (Cape Baranov & historical data) (Dr. Aleksandr Makshtas

Task B: Monitoring of sea-ice properties and production (multi-sensor satellite remote sensing) (Dr. Sascha Willmes)

Task C: Modeling of atmosphere/sea-ice/ocean interaction (Univ.-Prof. Dr. Günther Heinemann)

WP 3

Biogeochemical cycles in the Laptev Sea

Prof. Dr. Martin Frank / Andrey Novikhin

Task A: Mechanisms controlling the distribution of nutrients in the Laptev Sea (TRANSDRIFT XXIV, XXV) (Dr. Georgi Laukert)

Task B: Changes of the hydrochemical structure of the Laptev Sea (TRANSDRIFT XXIV, XXV) (Andrey Novikhin)

WP 4

Ecological consequences of climate change in the Siberian shelf seas

Prof. Dr. Dieter Piepenburg / Dr. Vasiliy Povazhnyy

Task A: Dynamics of pelagic particle processes and benthic functional diversity patterns (TRANSDRIFT XXIV, XXV) (Prof. Dr. Dieter Piepenburg)

Task B: Biological community changes in the Laptev Sea (historical data, TRANSDRIFT XXIV, XXV) (Dr. Vasiliy Povazhnyy)

WP 5

Long-term and paleoceanographic changes of the Arctic climate system

Dr. Robert Spielhagen / Prof. Dr. Leonid Timokhov

Task A: Long-term variability of the thermohaline state of the Arctic transpolar system (historical data) (Prof. Dr. Leonid Timokhov)

Task B: Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (TRANSDRIFT XXV) (Dr. Ekaterina Taldenkova)

WP 6

Project management

Dr. Heidemarie Kassens / Dr. Vladimir Ivanov

Members of the CATS team

Organization	Name	Position	Field of research	Email address
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research	Dr. Henning Bauch		Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (Task 5B)	hbauch (at) geomar.de
	Prof. Dr. Christian Haas		Hydrodynamic modeling of changes in sea ice and their impact on ocean dynamics (Task 1C)	christian.haas (at) awi.de
	Dr. Jens Hoelemann	German scientist in charge of WP 1	The shelf-edge system: influence of shelf processes on the Arctic Boundary Current (Task 1B)	jens.hoelemann (at) awi.de
	Dr. Markus Janout	Coordinator of Task B/WP 1	The shelf-edge system: influence of shelf processes on the Arctic Boundary Current (Task 1B)	markus.janout (at) awi.de
	Prof. Dr. Torsten Kanzow	Principal investigator AWI	The shelf-edge system: influence of shelf processes on the Arctic Boundary Current (Task 1B)	torsten.kanzow (at) awi.de
	Dr. Casper Kraan		Mechanisms controlling the distribution of nutrients in the Laptev Sea (Task 3A)	casper.kraan (at) awi.de
	Dr. Thomas Krumpen		Hydrodynamic modeling of changes in sea ice and their impact on ocean dynamics (Task 1C)	thomas.krumpen (at) awi.de
	Prof. Dr. Ruediger Stein		Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (Task 5B)	ruediger.stein (at) awi.de
	Prof. Dr. Anya Waite		Dynamics of pelagic particle processes and benthic functional diversity patterns (Task 4A)	anya.waite (at) awi.de
Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute	Ekaterina Vladimirovna Bloshkina		The shelf-edge system: influence of shelf processes on the Arctic Boundary Current (Task 1B)	bloshkinaev (at) mail.ru
	Dr. Petr Vitalyevich Bogorodsky		Monitoring of sea-ice properties and production (Task 2B)	bogorodski (at) aari.ru
	Ekaterina Arkadyevna Chernyavskaya		Changes of the hydrochemical structure of the Laptev Sea (Task 3B)	cherni_ka (at) mail.ru
	Dr. Anna Vladimirovna Danshina		Hydrodynamic modeling of changes in sea ice and their impact on ocean dynamics (Task 1C)	danshina (at) mail.ru
	Dr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Ivanov	Principal investigator of CATS (MON) Principal investigator AARI Scientist in charge of WP 1 Russian coordinator WP 6 Coordinator Task C/WP 1	Hydrodynamic modeling of changes in sea ice and their impact on ocean dynamics (Task 1C)	Vladimir.Ivanov (at) aari.ru
	Valery Yuryevich Karpiy		Long-term variability of the thermohaline state of the Arctic transpolar system (Task 5A)	valkar (at) mail.ru
	Vasily Yuryevich Kustov		Processes in the atmospheric boundary layer of the high Arctic (Task 2A)	kustov (at) aari.ru
	Mikhail Sergeevich Makhotin	Coordination assistant Coordinator Task A/WP 1	Hydrography and watermass formation in the Laptev Sea (Task 1A)	m-makhotin (at) mail.ru
	Irina Alexandrovna Makhotina		Processes in the atmospheric boundary layer of the high Arctic (Task 2A)	i-makhotina (at) mail.ru
	Prof. Dr. Alexandr Petrovich Makshtas	Russian scientist in charge of WP 2 Coordinator Task A/WP 2	Processes in the atmospheric boundary layer of the high Arctic (Task 2A)	maksh (at) aari.ru
	Fedor Mikhailovich Martynov		Dynamics of pelagic particle processes and benthic functional diversity patterns (Task 4A)	fedor.martynov (at) gmail.com
	Andrey Evgenevich Novikhin	Russian scientist in charge of WP 3 Coordinator Task B/WP 3	Changes of the hydrochemical structure of the Laptev Sea (Task 3B)	andrey.novikhin (at) gmail.com
	Vasily Vladimirovich Povazhnyy	Russian scientist in charge of WP 4 Coordinator Task B/WP 4	Biological community changes in the Laptev Sea (Task 4B)	povazhny (at )aari.ru
	Dr. Alexandr Viktorovich Smirnov		The shelf-edge system: influence of shelf processes on the Arctic Boundary Current (Task 1B)	alexander.vic.smirnov (at) gmail.com
	Prof. Dr. Leonid Alexandrovich Timokhov	Russian scientist in charge of WP 5 Coordinator Task A/WP 5	Long-term variability of the thermohaline state of the Arctic transpolar system (Task 5A)	ltim (at) aari.ru
	Natalya Andreevna Vyazigina		Long-term variability of the thermohaline state of the Arctic transpolar system (Task 5)	naty_vyazik (at) mail.ru
Christian Albrechts University Kiel (CAU)	Stefan Buettner		Dynamics of pelagic particle processes and benthic functional diversity patterns (Task 4A) PhD student	sbuettner (at) geomar.de
	Miriam Hansen		Biological community changes in the Laptev Sea (Task 4B) PhD student	mhansen (at) geomar.de
	Prof. Dr. Dieter Piepenburg	Principal investigator CAU German scientist in charge of WP 4 Coordinator Task A/WP 4	Dynamics of pelagic particle processes and benthic functional diversity patterns (Task 4A)	dpiepenburg (at) ecology.uni-kiel.de
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel	Dr. Dorothea Bauch		Mechanisms controlling the distribution of nutrients in the Laptev Sea (Task 3A)	dbauch (at) geomar.de
	Prof. Dr. Martin Frank	German scientist in charge of WP 3	Mechanisms controlling the distribution of nutrients in the Laptev Sea (Task 3A)	mfrank (at) geomar.de
	Dr. Heidemarie Kassens	Principal investigator of CATS (BMBF) Principal investigator GEOMAR German coordinator WP 6	Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (Task 5B)	hkassens (at) geomar.de
	Dr. Georgi Laukert	Coordinator Task A/WP 3	Mechanisms controlling the distribution of nutrients in the Laptev Sea (Task 3A)	glaukert (at) geomar.de
	Dr. Carsten Schirnick		Data management	cschirnick (at) geomar.de
	Pina Springer		Data management	pspringer (at) geomar.de
	Dr. Karen Volkmann-Lark	Coordination assistance Head of Secretariat "Laptev Sea System"		kvolkmann-lark (at) geomar.de
Hamburg University	Prof. Dr. Lars Kaleschke / Prof. Dr. Thomas Pohlmann	Principal investigator Hamburg University	Monitoring of sea-ice properties and production (Task 2B)	lars.kaleschke (at) uni-hamburg.de
Hamburg University	Dr. Xiangshan Tian-Kunze		Monitoring of sea-ice properties and production (Task 2B)	xiangshan.tian-kunze (at) uni-hamburg.de
Mainz Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Literature (AdW)	Dr. Robert Spielhagen	Principal investigator AdW German scientist in charge for WP 5	Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (Task 5B)	rspielhagen (at) geomar.de
Moscow Lomonosov State University (MSU)	Natalya Olegovna Chistyakova		Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (Task 5B) PhD student	natal-y (at) mail.ru
	Dr. Yaroslav Sergeevich Ovsepyan		Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (Task 5B)	yaovsepyan (at) yandex.ru
	Dr. Ekaterina Evgen'eva Taldenkova	Principal investigator MSU Coordinator Task B/WP 5	Holocene sea-ice variability, water mass distribution and sea-level history in the western Laptev Sea (Task 5B)	etaldenkova (at) mail.ru
Trier University	Univ.-Prof. Dr. Guenther Heinemann	Principal investigator Trier University German scientist in charge of WP 2 Coordinator Task C/WP 2	Modeling of atmosphere/sea-ice/ocean interaction (Task 2C)	heinemann (at) uni-trier.de
	Svenja Kohnemann		Modeling of atmosphere/sea-ice/ocean interaction (Task 2C)	svenja.kohnemann (at) uni-trier.de
	Dr. Andreas Preusser		Monitoring of sea-ice properties and production (Task 2B)	preusser (at) uni-trier.de
	Frank Schnaase		Modeling of atmosphere/sea-ice/ocean interaction (Task 2C) PhD student	schnaase (at) uni-trier.de
	Dr. Sascha Willmes	Coordinator Task B/WP 2	Monitoring of sea-ice properties and production (Task 2B)	willmes (at) uni-trier.de

Members of the project consortium

Partner organization

Principal investigator

Work packages and tasks

Members of the CATS team