Ecological and Climate Impacts of Greenlandic Glacial Outwash Plains (ECO-Plains)

Glacial outwash plains are developing fast in the Arctic, a region which warms two to four times faster than the global average. These new landscapes are climate relevant. They can be sources and sinks of greenhouse gas fluxes and they expose large amounts of fine dust. Addressing key research questions related to outwash plains in Greenland is critical, as these environments develop particularly fast and numerously. It is unknown which microbial community structures and functional potential play a role in this ecosystem and soil development, and how those influence greenhouse gas fluxes. Further, microorganisms can function as bioaerosols, which are good ice nucleating particles (INP), together with fine glacial dust. Both INP sources can significantly impact cloud formation and radiative transfer through the atmosphere. Dust aerosol can carry nutrients, which are dispersed around the Arctic through the atmosphere, and can thereby play a key role in ecosystem development further away. Importantly, neither the spatial extent nor the temporal evolution of outwash plains over the last decades has been estimated, meaning that the potentially significant climate impact has not been quantified. Here we combine scientific expertise from microbiology, atmospheric chemistry, and Earth observation to unravel the climate and ecosystem impacts of outwash plains in Greenland.