Student Research Profile: Fowzia Ahmed
The Department of Environment and Geography is proud to highlight recently published graduate student research.
Fowzia Ahmed is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Environment and Geography, studying nutrient dynamics of sea-ice algae in the Arctic. In her recent study, she compiled a 30-year pan-Arctic dataset of sea-ice and sub-ice nutrients together with sea-ice chlorophyll a to examine regional, seasonal, and vertical patterns. The results show strong regional contrasts, with bottom-ice nutrients and algal biomass especially high in parts of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, likely linked to tidal-driven mixing at the ice–ocean interface, and lowest in Arctic Ocean basins. Overall, the study improves understanding of pan-Arctic patterns in sea-ice nutrients.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene in December 2025.
THE PAPER
A pan-Arctic perspective on the influence of ice algae on sea-ice nutrient concentrations
Ahmed, Fowzia, et al. “A Pan-Arctic Perspective on the Influence of Ice Algae on Sea-Ice Nutrient Concentrations.” Elementa (Washington, D.C.) [OAKLAND], vol. 13, no. 1, no. 00059, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2025.00059.
CONTACT
Fowzia Ahmed, PhD Student
Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS)
University of Manitoba
ahmedf6@myumanitoba.ca