Session 08 - Short Summary

The polar regions are undergoing rapid environmental change, with profound consequences for marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. While substantial progress has been made in understanding physical changes in the atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean, a major challenge remains in linking these physical drivers to biological and biogeochemical responses across spatial and temporal scales. This session invites contributions that investigate the interactions between physical processes in the sea ice and upper ocean and their impacts on marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry in the Arctic and Antarctic. We welcome observational, experimental, remote sensing, and modeling studies that examine how processes such as stratification, vertical mixing, freshwater input, tides, internal waves, sea ice dynamics, mesoscale and submesoscale circulation, and ice-ocean interactions influence nutrient transport, primary production, carbon cycling, microbial communities, higher trophic levels, and ecosystem functioning. We particularly encourage contributions that bridge disciplinaryboundaries and foster dialogue between physical oceanographers, sea ice scientists, biogeochemists, ecologists, and modelers, with the goal of advancing a more integrated understanding of the changing polar marine system.