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FV 091 : How does climate change affect our marine ecosystem?

07.01.2018 - By Jessica: Native French teacher, founder of French Your WayPlay

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Meet Gérald Darnis, a French marine biologist who studies zooplankton in the Arctic on the Canadian icebreaker Amundsen.

After completing a PhD in oceanography, Gerald went on his first expedition in the Arctic. I asked him to share his first memories of going into a place of the world where very few of us will ever go.

What is plankton? How and why is it interesting to study these tiny organisms? Why studying it in the Arctic? These are some of the questions we’ll answer to in this first episode with Gérald.

Plankton is an essential part of the marine ecosystem while the Arctic region is directly impacted by climate change. Therefore, studying the impact of the global warming on the zooplankton in the Arctic helps scientists to understand how all the ecosystem may be impacted.

Vocab List

azote (nm) = nitrogen

baleine (nf) = whale

brise-glace (nm) = icebreaker, iceboat

crevette (nf) = shrimp

doctorat (nm) = PhD

échantillon (nm) = sample

effet de serre (nm) = greenhouse effect

embarquer = to embark, to board, to get onboard

équipage (nm) = crew

fer (nm) = iron

filet (nm) = net

le plus clair de… = most of, the most part of

méduse (nf) = jellyfish

plancton (nm) = plankton

réchauffement climatique (nm) = global warming

s'alimenter = to feed oneself

subside (nm) = subsidy, allowance ; grant

Questions:

How is it possible to estimate how much plankton is at a given place in the ocean?

How do people get onboard the Amundsen when the icebreaker is at sea in the Arctic?

How do the peoples inhabiting the Canadian Arctic areas live and feed themselves?

Answers:

The use of acoustic instruments allows to assess the quantity of plankton based on the echo it sends back when reverberating on an obstacle / an organism.

In summer, the crew first lands in a small populated area then is transferred by helicopter. In winter (when the boat is surrounded by ice), people make a landing strip directly on the ice near the boat.

They hunt, fish and receive grants from the government

Links & Resources

ArcticNet : http://www.arcticnet.ulaval.ca

Groupement de recherche Québec-Océan : http://www.quebec-ocean.ulaval.ca

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