Short Bio:

Marta Umbert is a physical oceanographer at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC, Barcelona) and Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant project FRESH-CARE (2025–2029).

Her research focuses on Arctic freshwater variability, satellite sea surface salinity, ocean circulation changes, and their implications for climate dynamics. She combines remote sensing, in-situ observations, artificial intelligence reconstructions, and regional ocean–sea-ice modelling to better quantify freshwater pathways and transport in polar regions. She is part of the Barcelona Polar Lab and collaborates internationally on polar climate and Earth observation research.

Description of the talk:

The Arctic Ocean is undergoing rapid hydrographic changes driven by accelerated warming, sea-ice retreat, and increasing freshwater input from sea ice melt, Greenland, and river discharge. These processes alter upper-ocean stratification and may influence large-scale ocean circulation.

In this talk, Marta will present recent results showing how satellite-based sea surface salinity observations improve freshwater content estimates in the Beaufort Gyre and help reduce biases in model-based reconstructions. She will then introduce the ERC Starting Grant project FRESH-CARE, which aims to reconstruct Arctic freshwater pathways by combining satellite observations, in-situ data, AI-based three-dimensional reconstructions of temperature and salinity, and a coupled ocean–sea-ice model. Finally, Marta will briefly discuss broader implications for ocean circulation and potential future research directions.

Join us for this exciting talk with Marta and come prepared with questions related to the topic. Sea you there!