From a remote site in Antarctica, an international research team including Dr. Dorthe Dahl-Jensen from UM, has achieved a historic milestone. The scientists successfully drilled a 2,800-meter-long ice core, reaching bedrock beneath the Antarctic ice sheet and uncovering the oldest ice core ever retrieved.

The Beyond EPICA team of scientists

“This achievement is monumental for climate and environmental science,” said Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Sea Ice, Freshwater-Marine Coupling and Climate Change at the University of Manitoba. “This ice core provides the longest continuous climate record known, and we hope it will help us understand the connections between Earth’s carbon cycle and temperature changes throughout history.”

This breakthrough offers an unprecedented opportunity to explore Earth’s climate and atmospheric history, including the relationship between temperature and greenhouse gases during the most distant periods of the ice age.

“Congratulations to the Beyond EPICA team for this extraordinary discovery,” said Dr. Mario Pinto, Vice President (Research and International). “UM scientists continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and with bold research that will provide solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.”

The ice core is poised to reveal invaluable insights into the planet’s past climate patterns, which are believed to be linked to greenhouse gases preserved in the air bubbles trapped within the ice. It is hoped that this information will give the team clues about how the Earth will respond to rising temperatures.

“The success of this drilling campaign far exceeded our expectations,” said Dahl-Jensen. “We are eager to begin extracting the detailed climate information stored in these ice cores, collaborating with the broader team of scientists to unlock this crucial data.”

The research project was made possible by the collaboration of scientific and logistical teams from across Europe. The project is funded by the European Commission, with support from national partners across Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

To learn more about Beyond EPICA Oldest Ice project, visit the project website:  https://www.beyondepica.eu/en/

What you should know about Feiyue Wang and his research:

• As Tier-1 Canada Research Chair in Arctic Environmental Chemistry, he looks at current and emerging contaminants in the Arctic and global environments and how they interact with climate change.
• Wang is a researcher at the Centre for Earth Observation Science and leads the Churchill Marine Observatory and Sea-Ice Environmental Research Facility.
• Building upon his pioneering research on mercury in sea ice, his research team is studying how oil spills and other emerging contaminants associated with Arctic development can affect the Arctic ecosystem and human health. Ultimately, his research will provide critical knowledge and tools to improve policies and practices for sustainable development in the Arctic.

Recent honours and honourable mentions:

• Holds an Honorary Professorship at Aarhus University (Denmark)
• Serves as a national expert for Canada on mercury assessment for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program and the United Nations Environment Program
• In 2021, The Chemical Institute of Canada recognized him with the Dima Award for distinguished contributions to research and developments in the field of environmental chemistry or environmental chemical engineering
• Winnipeg Free Press: U of M receives research awards

Must-read or Must-see:

Conversation Canada: How we solved an Arctic mercury mystery 

UM Knowledge Exchange-Now You Sea Ice

What’s next:

• The Grand Opening of the Churchill Marine Observatory (summer 2024)
• A new major research initiative, “Reimagining Arctic and Central Canada Accessibility through Hudson Bay (REACH)”

UM Faces & Spaces is a monthly feature showcasing the people and places across UM that are transforming the student experience, advancing innovation in research, driving change and creating a lasting impact here in Manitoba and globally. For more stories go to our YouTube playlist.

This is according to a new study published in the journal ‘Earth System Dynamics,’ which found that faster Arctic warming will lead to a global two-degree temperature rise being reached eight years earlier than if it were warming at the average rate.

University of Manitoba professor Julienne Stroeve, who was a lead researcher on this project, said the goal of the study was to understand how the Arctic is contributing to global warming and how quickly the Paris Agreement temperature thresholds of 1.5 C and 2 C will be broken.

“We really are, in my view, in this critical decade of action at the moment where if we don’t have our emissions [reduced] by the end of this decade, we’re for sure going to exceed 1.5 degrees,” she said.

Read here

While it can be challenging to reach the high Arctic, it is even more difficult to access the high Arctic oceans due to almost year-round sea ice cover.

The presence of multiyear sea ice makes the area almost inaccessible for most research ships and scientists can only rely on few vessels that are equipped for the environment.

One of these vessels is Canada’s only research icebreaker, the CCGS Amundsen.

Using its capability, oceanographers at the University of Manitoba’s Center for Earth Observation Science (CEOS) are hoping to collect a unique dataset on water dynamics and ice-ocean-glacier interaction and their response to climate change.

This Fall, two CEOS employees from UM – Sergei Kirillov, research associate, and Emma Ausen, technician – took part in the 2023 Amundsen Science Expedition. Together with the Coast Guard crew, they deployed scientific moorings that will remain underwater for two years to collect a continuous record of local oceanographic conditions.

The collection of a comparative oceanographic dataset can be used for climate models and increased understanding of environmental changes in a system where icebergs, ocean currents, fjords and glaciers interact.  

How it works

Oceanographic moorings usually consist of a series of instruments that are strapped to a line of rope and anchored to the sea floor. The top of the mooring is a float or a buoy that keeps the line of instruments upright, with the float typically being ~50 m below the water line so that it is safe from icebergs and waves.

The bottom of the mooring is equipped with an acoustic release, which is an instrument that can release the mooring from the ocean floor when an acoustic signal has been received by the device. After the acoustic release has been activated, the buoys will bring the instruments to the surface where they can be recovered.

Instruments on moorings typically measure variables such as the temperature and salinity of the water, as well as water currents, sediment in the water column and ice thickness above. When a mooring is deployed, it is typically left in place for 1-2 years with sensors collecting data at regular intervals.

Diagram of a mooring including the anchor, acoustic release, ADCP sensors, CTD sensors and float (left). Deploying this mooring off the CCGS Amundsen (right, photo Emma Ausen).

The CEOS researchers participated in Leg 3 of the Amundsen Science 2023 expedition.

Deployment of the moorings

During the month of September, a total of 10 moorings were deployed by the team, with four moorings planned and designed by CEOS researchers. Two of these moorings were deployed in Lancaster Sound and will be used to compare current oceanographic conditions to those recorded over 20 years ago through moorings from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

The moorings were deployed at opposite ends of Lancaster Sound in order to record two different currents: the inflow of the warm intermediate waters from Baffin Bay along the northern coast and the southern outflow. Lancaster Sound is the site of Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area. 

Two other moorings were deployed off the western coast of Greenland, at sites that have unique oceanographic conditions. One mooring was deployed near Cape Jackson, which is where the northernmost sensible heat polynya in the world forms every winter.

Polynas – a biological hotspot in Arctic winter

A polynya is an area of open water surrounded by ice, that can serve as a biological hot spot during the Arctic winter. A sensible heat polynya is formed through the upward transport of heat from the deeper ocean which prevents sea ice from forming.

This polynya forms in connection with the Nares Strait Ice Bridge, which is a natural frozen pathway created by solid ice that allows for the movement of people and animals across Nares Strait during winter months.

The polynya being investigated through the Cape Jackson mooring has been suggested to impact the breakup of the Nares Strait ice bridge, which plays an essential role in the formation of Pikialasorsuaq or the North Water polynya, an area recognized for its biological activity and importance to Inuit peoples.

Deploying the Cape Jackson mooring was challenging due to the presence of multiple icebergs from the nearby Humboldt glacier, which required careful vessel navigation during mooring deployal.

With this unique mooring, CEOS researchers are hoping to understand what causes the formation of the polynya during winter and understand how it may respond to further climate change.

Location of the four moorings deployed around Greenland and Devon Island. Map created by Sergei Kirillov.

Deployal of a mooring in the coastal waters near Cape Jackson, Greenland. Photo Emma Ausen.

Now that the moorings have been deployed, CEOS researchers can only wait in anticipation for next years expedition when they will return for retrieval. Datasets that are collected on these moorings will contribute to the groundbreaking research of Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Ice, Freshwater Marine Coupling and Climate change led by Dr. Dorthe Dahl-Jensen from the University of Manitoba.

Watch the deployment of one mooring in the coastal waters near Cape Jackson, Greenland here: https://youtu.be/qBnD1OKTN2o

References:

Prinsenberg, S., Hamilton, J., Peterson, I., & Pettipas, R. (2009). Observing and interpreting the seasonal variability of the oceanographic fluxes passing through Lancaster Sound of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. In Influence of climate change on the changing Arctic and Sub-Arctic conditions (pp. 125-143). Springer Netherlands.

https://parks.canada.ca/amnc-nmca/cnamnc-cnnmca/tallurutiup-imanga

The role of oceanic heat flux in reducing thermodynamic ice growth in Nares Strait and promoting earlier collapse of the ice bridge 

http://pikialasorsuaq.org/en/News/Press-release-November-2017

In addition to severe staffing cuts, government branches geared at conserving and protecting the province’s natural assets have seen their funding stagnate, according to The Narwhal/Free Press’ analysis of environment budgets since 1999. Those staff and funding cuts have only intensified since the Progressive Conservatives took office in 2016.

The austerity measures have left department staff “at the end of their rope” and put critical environmental services in jeopardy, said Mark Hudson, a sociology professor at the University of Manitoba.

Read here

Residents of Virden — which lies about 70 km west of Brandon — and the surrounding area have benefited financially for several decades from oil extraction. It’s something Bruce Dunning, a town councillor who runs a consulting business in Manitoba’s relatively small oil industry, has seen first-hand.

Fletcher Baragar, a professor in the department of economics at University of Manitoba, said the oil industry is only a small piece of the provincial economy, but it has had a big impact on the regional economy.

“We certainly did have our mini boom but we’re on the tail end of that now,” he said

Read here

Read the Op-Ed

Exploring sustainable supply chains

Kelsey Taylor, Asper assistant professor of supply chain management

Kelsey Taylor is an assistant professor of supply chain management at Asper. Her recent publication in the Journal of Supply Chain Management with co-author Eugenia Rosca explores how social enterprises use their relationships with suppliers, beneficiaries or customers (social capital), to navigate and balance the tensions between their mission and their financial viability.

For Taylor, one of the more exciting takeaways of this work is uncovering further evidence that profit is not the only language organizations need to speak to pursue their mission and build mutually beneficial relationships.

“Sometimes all that mattered for these organizations was that they spoke the same ‘language’ as their potential partners. They could find partners who had similar missions and values and collaborate through their shared understanding and purpose,” she says.

Social or purpose-driven enterprises subvert earlier business models by placing their mission above profit; they don’t ignore profit, but they do reprioritize it.

“The organizations I spoke to understand that the numbers have to make sense—they need to be able to keep their doors open and pay their people—but their goal was always to get closer to achieving their mission rather than trying to squeeze an extra dollar out of a transaction,” she explains.

Taylor and Rosca’s work demonstrates that by using social capital, social enterprises can maintain the delicate balance between social impact and viability without losing sight of their original purpose.

Marketing practices beyond profit

Rajesh Manchanda, Asper professor of marketing

Fellow Asper faculty Bruno Dyck and Rajesh Manchanda, as well as co-authors Savanna Vagianos [BComm(Hons)/19, MSc/23] and Michèle Bernardin [BComm(Hons)/21], also explore firms that are rethinking traditional business approaches in their paper, published this year in Business and Society Review.

This paper is part of a larger project in which they study around 60 firms. They discuss two exemplar firms here, including Winnipeg’s Eadha Bakery, examining their marketing practices and contributing to the emerging field of sustain-centric marketing.

Their work begins with the premise that triple bottom line (TBL) approaches to business are not sufficient for combatting the social and ecological crises that profit-first business and widespread consumerism have produced.

They focus instead on sustain-centric approaches to business, where social and ecological well-being—people and planet—come before profit. In Dyck and Manchanda’s work, reprioritizing profit also creates an opportunity to redefine it.

“I think the crux of the issue becomes what profit or money actually means to different companies, regardless of size. In sustain-centric firms, profit is a means for them to do good, to better the lives of their employees, suppliers or customers. Profit is not for the firm itself, and profit is not the sought after outcome. It is a means to help the entire ecosystem flourish,” says Manchanda.

Replacing profit with purpose, inspiring possibility

Sustain-centric business models engage creative and entrepreneurial thinking—expanding understandings of value and outcome beyond profit, and in so doing, asking future business professionals to be more intentional, more creative in their pursuits.

From supporting local farmers and rewilding soil, to uplifting marginalized communities or simply making excellent sourdough, sustain-centric businesses are redefining the field, and Asper researchers are recording this progress and inspiring more possibility.

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Read Kelsey Taylor and Eugenia Rosca’s paper, “Sink, swim or drift: How social enterprises use supply chain social capital to balance tensions between impact and viability” here.

Read Bruno Dyck, Rajesh Manchanda, Savanna Vagianos and Michèle Bernardin’s paper, “Sustainable marketing: an exploratory study of a sustain-centric, versus profit-centric, approach” here.

Tell us about yourself.

I received my training in the Department of Biosystems Engineering here at the University of Manitoba. In that environment, I was provided excellent opportunities to learn, leverage that knowledge into real-world applications, and grow – both personally and professionally. I completed my BSc in 2011 with a minor in business, and then subsequently studied biofuels and bioplastics from waste during my MSc and PhD degrees – the latter was completed in 2019. I was also fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel, work, and publish alongside with international collaborators during this time. This challenged me in new ways but it was a fun and rewarding experience. From there, I joined National Research Council Canada as a Research Associate. Within the Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre, our team developed a variety of client-based and collaborative projects with Canadian small-medium enterprises, academics, other government departments, and international governments with the goal of developing and fostering a competitive Canadian bioeconomy.

Why did you get into this area of study?

I am a bit ashamed to answer this question honestly. The truth is, in 2009 I was looking for something else to do on campus as I took some extra summer classes to accelerate my degree. I was fortunate to have been the recipient of NSERC as an undergraduate student research assistant, and I suppose I never looked back from there. It’s funny how sometimes seemingly small decisions can alter your life. To my credit though, I chose the research area that I did (biofuels), out genuine concern over our (my) petroleum addiction and desire to preserve our environment.

What are you seeking to explore with your research?

I want to start building toward a CO2-based biorefinery, with the goal of having carbon-neutral (bio)products that feed into a circular economy. My research program will explore using microbial metabolism to sequester and valorize carbon dioxide. The work I’ve done to date has used heterotrophic metabolism and require some form of organic carbon – which can be costly. Carbon dioxide on the other hand, is readily available as the ultimate waste product of many anthropogenic activities. The goal is to improve the life cycle performance of industrial bioproducts by pushing them toward a carbon-neutral future. The question is, how far?

Will you be teaching? What appeals to you about being a teacher?

I will be co-teaching a “Bioprocessing” graduate-level class in the Fall semester and teaching “Impact of Engineering on the Environment”. I love that both deal with topics that I am passionate about, and I am humbled that I get to be somewhat of a voice of influence on why aspiring engineers need to care. Whether graduate or undergraduate level, I look forward to the mentorship opportunities and helping to equip or inspire these brilliant minds to go out there and make a difference. I want to strive to make sure that the experience of the students I teach and supervise is at least as good, or better, than my own.

What you like to do in your spare time?

With my spare time, I really enjoy reading and making summaries of the scientific literature…kidding!

I grew up outside of Winnipeg so my heart has always been with agriculture. This has been translated into a love of gardening and building community by sharing food that is grown locally and (hopefully) sustainably with those around me. I still dream scaling that up one day.

I also enjoy being outdoors generally – cycling, skiing, hiking, and the farther the better. I always say, it’s not an adventure until you wonder if you’ll be making it home that night.

Watch the interview