30th International Liège Colloquium on Ocean Hydrodynamics

Hydrodynamical and ecosystem processes in ice covered seas of the Southern and Northern Hemispheres

• General introduction
• International Scientific Committee
• Local Organizing Committee
• Sponsorship
• Program
• Publication in Journal of Marine Systems

At the micro- and mesoscales, the ice covered seas provide some of the most extreme examples of hydrodynamical forcing of pelagic ecosystems. Hence, in ice covered seas, there is often exceptionally high coupling between hydrodynamical and ecosystem processes. The presence of sea ice influences the fluxes of heat, gases, and matter to and from the atmosphere. This plays a key role in regulating fluxes of greenhouse gases (CO₂, DMS). The processes of ice formation, melting, break-up, and retreat strongly influence the vertical structure of the water column and the rates of nutrient supply, primary production, grazing, and sedimentation. In addition, at the meso- and macroscales, the ice covered seas are the sites of specific coupling between atmospheric forcing and ocean circulation, which in turn controls the 3-dimensional distributions of organisms.

The 30th International Liège Colloquium on Ocean Hydrodynamics will provide the opportunity for reviewing recent developments on processes that connect hydrodynamics and ecosystems in ice covered seas. These include: the physical processes and fluxes that control and structure the ice and under-ice environments; the responses of ice and water column ecosystems to physical forcing; the effects of ice congelation and crystal structure on the associated biota; the thermodynamics of exchanges between ice and water and their effects on pelagic ecosystems; the interactions between ocean and atmosphere, including ultra-violet radiation and production of DMS; the role of sedimentation on the structure and functionning of benthic communities; the pathways of biogenic carbon fluxes and their hydrodynamical regulation. Papers concerning the benthos and apex predators (marine mammals and birds) are welcome, as far as they address the theme of the Colloquium.

The areas of interest to the Colloquium include, in both Hemispheres: the permanently and seasonally ice covered waters, the marginal ice zones and the polynyas and leads. In any area, papers might consider one or several of the following environments: the sea ice; the interfaces (horizontal and vertical) between ice and water, including ice edges (progressing, stable, or retreating); the water column, either under the ice, in open areas surrounded by sea ice (e.g. polynyas, leads), at ice edges, at the time of ice melt or break-up, or seasonally free of ice.

All approaches are welcome, including: field sampling, series resulting from long-term moorings and drifting platforms, remote sensing, laboratory experiments, and modelling. Sessions devoted to syntheses from multidisciplinary programmes could be organised.

Steve ACKLEY, Cold Regions Research and Engeneering Laboratory, NH, U.S.A..

Miguel ALCARAZ, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.

Leif ANDERSON, University of Göteborg, Sweden.

Roberto AZZOLINI, Consiglio Nazionale Della Ricerche, Roma, Italy.

Ulrich BATHMANN, Alfred-Wegener Institut. Bremerhaven, Germany.

André BERGER, University of Louvain, Belgium

Mitsuo FUKUCHI, National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan.

Jean-Henri HECQ, University of Liège, Belgium.

Gunnar KULLENBERG, Executive Secretary IOC, UNESCO, Paris, France.

Louis LEGENDRE, Laval University, Québec, Canada.

Jacques C. J. NIHOUL (Chairman), University of Liège, Belgium.

Walker SMITH, University of Tennessee. Knoxville, TN, USA..

Paul TREGUER, European Institute of the Sea. Brest, France.

Peter WADHAMS, University of Cambridge, UK.

S. Djenidi (Chairman)

A. Goffart

Ch. Winand (Secretary)

Address :

The members of the Organizing Committees wish to express their gratitude to the :

• Commission of the European Union
• Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS, Belgium)
• Institut de Recherche Marines et d'interactions Air-mer (IRMA, Belgium)
• Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the UNESCO (IOC)
• International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Ocean (IAPSO)
• Marine Sciences Division (UNESCO)
• Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique (Belgium)
• National Science Foundation (NSF, USA)
• Office of Naval Research (ONR, USA)
• Programma Nazionale di Richerche in Antartide (Italy)
• Scientific Council on Oceanic Research (SCOR, ICSU)
• Services Fédéraux des Affaires Scientifiques Techniques et Culturelles (SSTC, Belgium)
• Université de Liège

for their valuable assistance in organizing the Colloquium.