The project entitled “Impacts of Melting Tidewater Glaciers on Marine Biogeochemical Cycles” (NPC File No: 149049; NIRB File No: 19YN020) is being proposed by Dr. Maya Bhatia from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta. The project location is in the Qikiqtani Region, at Devon Ice Cap on Devon Island and in Jones Sound, Nunavut. The closest community to the proposed work is the Hamlet of Grise Fiord. The project will not encroach on any protected areas. The project is intended to be multi-year, conducted annually in the spring/summer, consisting of a small party (<6 people) of scientists spending approximately 1 month in the field. The project goal is to understand how melting glaciers are exporting nutrients and sediment to the ocean and the impact of this material on regional marine primary production and biogeochemistry. To achieve this goal, we will conduct ice-based activities on Devon Ice Cap and marine-based activities in Jones Sound. Our on-ice activities will be to install, download and retrieve time-lapse cameras and pressure transducers around Sverdrup and Belcher glaciers on Devon Island Ice Cap. Equipment will be deployed at the glacier terminus, and in/around ice-marginal ponds and streams, recording (i) changes in glacier hydrology as the melt season progresses and (ii) changes in plume development at the glacier terminus. We expect seasonal changes in the glacier hydrology to correspond to the timing, magnitude, and nature of discharge events at the glacier terminus. Finally, we will also collect glacier ice and meltwater samples and process them for chemical and microbial analyses and experiments. Our marine-based activities will involve oceanic surveys from the termini of glaciers on Devon and Ellesmere Islands, measuring changes in seawater conductivity, temperature, and pressure. This work will be conducted from small boats, consisting of a private sailboat and/or boats provided by the Grise Fiord Ranger Patrol group. Seawater samples in Jones Sound will also be collected to measure marine chemical and microbial properties. Collectively, the new knowledge generated by this project has valuable long-term implications by providing understanding of the drivers of marine production at the base of the food web in this region, as well as broader scale marine carbon cycling, and the susceptibility of these drivers to climate change. Field access will be provided by twin otter from the Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP), Resolute Bay to Grise Fiord. From Grise, we will board a private sailboat and/or Grise Fiord Ranger Patrol Group boats. To conduct our on-ice work we will travel to Truelove Inlet on Devon Island by boat. Travel on the ice cap will be achieved by helicopter/on foot. In some years, a temporary camp (party of 2 and the helicopter pilot) may be established at TrueLove Inlet for a few days, where we will meet the helicopter (provided by PCSP) in preparation for our airborne and on-ice sampling work. In other years, a temporary camp (<10 tents) may be established on the ice cap for a few weeks. All temporary camps will be dismantled seasonally at the conclusion of our annual field season. All fuel drums cached at TrueLove Inlet to support the helicopter work will be removed by PCSP at the end of the field season. All equipment not needed for subsequent field seasons will be removed annually. Some equipment and fuel needed for subsequent years may be cached on the northern margin of the ice cap. All equipment and cached materials will be removed at the end of the project. There should be no need for restoration as camp sites on land will be minimally used, avoid any plant development by being situated on bedrock, and all equipment on the ice/bedrock can be easily removed. The Hamlet of Grise Fiord is surrounded by melting tidewater glaciers. Local indigenous knowledge indicates that waters near the termini of these glaciers are biologically productive. The community has expressed interest in understanding the impacts that climate change and enhanced glacial melting in particular are having on the regional marine ecosystem. This project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Hamlet and the Geological Survey of Canada, who have been long-term partners to monitor the acceleration of glacier melt in this region. Data generated by this study will be used in student theses, research publications, public talks, and climate change assessment reports. Data will also be made available of the Hamlet of Grise Fiord. Ultimately, data will be deposited in a public data repository. Results will be communicated through annual reports to the Nunavut Research Institute and Nunavut Climate Change Center, and summaries of research results to Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay communities in Inuktitut and English. NRI will receive copies of published articles.