Dr. Angelika Renner

I am a sea-going physical oceanographer at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway and work mostly in polar regions, both in the Arctic and in the Southern Ocean, and along the Norwegian coast. I have a strong focus on cross-boundary and interdisciplinary work with marine biologists, chemical oceanographers, social scientists and others.

My research in the Arctic is centered around the Atlantic Water inflow along Svalbard and in the Barents Sea. Atlantic Water plays a major role in the heat supply to the Arctic Ocean and thus for our climate system, but is also crucial for bringing nutrients to the north. While I am definitely not a biologist, I am keen to understand the role physics play in shaping marine ecosystems. The interaction between Atlantic Water, the sea ice and the atmosphere, and polar water masses greatly influences nutrient distribution and therefore biological productivity. It also impacts the distribution and extent of boreal species which are currently extending their range northwards.

In the Southern Ocean, I investigate the role of currents on distribution of Antarctic krill. Antarctic krill are good swimmers, but not good enough to be completely decoupled from currents or sea ice drift. They do form huge swarms though with huge abundances and biomass. We are trying to decipher how much currents and their variability, features like eddies and fronts, tides, and sea ice movement contribute to forming so-called krill hotspots, to hopefully in the future develop better krill fisheries management systems.