Research Interests

I'm a biological oceanographer focusing on light availability in the marine ecosystem and how it controls the magnitude and timing of Arctic primary production. I'm specifically interested in how a sea ice cover impacts light propagation in the underlying water column, how it affects phytoplankton throughout the Arctic growth season and how these small algae acclimate to the variable under-ice light field. To find answers to these questions, I deploy optical sensor packages and collect water samples for many biological parameters during field expeditions in the Arctic and sub-Arctic Ocean.

Education

2016 - 2021
Ph.D. Major: Geography
University of Manitoba, Canada
Light propagation in sea ice-covered environments: Seasonal progression and biological implications

2012 - 2015
M.Sc. in Marine Biology
University of Rostock, Germany
Primary productivity of the Helgolandic kelp forest: Light response curves of biomass-dominant brown algae (Phaeophyceae) as basis for productivity estimates

2009 - 2012
B.Sc. in Biological Sciences
University of Rostock, Germany

Research Experience

Post-Doctoral fellow (2021 - present)
International Research Laboratory Takuvik (CNRS / ULaval) (IRL 3376)
Université Laval, Canada

Research Assistant (2015)
Institute for Biological Sciences
University of Rostock, Germany

Research Assistant (2012 - 2014)
Working group Ecology of benthic organisms
Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Germany

Awards

2020
Graduate Student Poster Award at Arctic Change 2020

2020
V.E. Barber Memorial Fellowship in Arctic Research

2020
Environment & Geography Departmental Award, University of Manitoba

2019
Best oral student presentation at International Glaciological Society Sea Ice Symposium

2016 - 2020
University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship

2017 & 2018
Faculty of Graduate Studies Travel Award

2017
B.A. Baryla Conference Travel Award

2016 & 2017
International Graduate Student Scholarship

Publications

2021

Matthes, L.C., Ehn, J. K., Dalman, L. A., Babb, D.G., Peeken, I., Harasyn, M., Kiriliov, S., Lee, J., Bélanger, S., Tremblay, J.-É., Barber, D.G. and Mundy, C. J. (2021 - in press). Environmental drivers of spring primary production in Hudson Bay. Elem Sci Anth. https://doi.org/

Barber, D.G., Harasyn, M.L., Babb, D.G., Capelle, D., McCullough, G., Dalman, L.A., Matthes, L.C., Ehn, J.K., Kirillov, S., Basu, A., Fayak, M., Schembri, S., Papakyriakou, T., Ahmed, M.M.M., Else, B., Guéguen, C., Meilleur, C., Dimitrenko, I., Mundy, C.J., Gupta, K., Rysgaard, S., Stroeve, J., Sydor, K. (2021). Sediment-laden sea ice in southern Hudson Bay: entrainment, transport and biogeochemical significance. Elem Sci Anth., 9 (1): 00108. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.00108

Jacquemot, L., Kalenitchenko, D., Matthes, L.C., Vigneron, A., Mundy, C.J., Tremblay J.-É., Lovejoy, C. (2021). Protist communities along freshwater–marine transition zones in Hudson Bay (Canada). Elem Sci Anthr 9(00111). https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2021.00111

Matthes, L.C. (2021). Light propagation in ice-covered environments: seasonal progression and biological implications. Ph.D. thesis. University of Manitoba. https://hdl.handle.net/1993/35352

2020

Ardyna, M., Mundy, C.J., Mayot, N., Matthes, L.C., Oziel, L., Horvat, C., Leu, E., Assmy, P., Hill, V., Matrai, P.A., Gale, M., Melnikov, I.A., Arrigo, K. (2020). Under-Ice Phytoplankton Blooms: Shedding Light on the “Invisible” Part of Arctic Primary Production. Front Mar Sci 7. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.608032

Matthes, L.C., Mundy, C.J., L.-Girard, S., Babin, M., Verin, G. and Ehn, J.K. (2020). Spatial heterogeneity as a key variable influencing spring-summer progression in UVR and PAR transmission through Arctic sea ice. Front Mar Sci 7. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00183

Massicotte, P., Amiraux, R., Amyot, M.-P., Archambault, P., Ardyna, M., Arnaud, L., Artigue, L., Aubry, C., Ayotte, P., Bécu, G., Bélanger, S., Benner, R., Bittig, H.-C., Bricaud, A., Brossier, É., Bruyant, F., Chauvaud, L., Christiansen-Stowe, D., Claustre, H., Cornet-Barthaux, V., Coupel, P., Cox, C., Delaforge, A., Dezutter, T., Dimier, C., Domine, F., Dufour, F., Dufresne, C., Dumont, D., Ehn, J., Else, B., Ferland, J., Forget, M.-H., Fortier, L., Galí, M., Galindo, V., Gallinari, M., Garcia, N., Gérikas Ribeiro, C., Gourdal, M., Gourvil, P., Goyens, C., Grondin, P.-L., Guillot, P., Guilmette, C., Houssais, M.-N., Joux, F., Lacour, L., Lacour, T., Lafond, A., Lagunas, J., Lalande, C., Laliberté, J., Lambert-Girard, S., Larivière, J., Lavaud, J., LeBaron, A., Leblanc, K., Le Gall, F., Legras, J., Lemire, M., Levasseur, M., Leymarie, E., Leynaert, A., Lopes dos Santos, A., Lourenço, A., Mah, D., Marec, C., Marie, D., Martin, N., Marty, C., Marty, S., Massé, G., Matsuoka, A., Matthes, L., … Babin, M. (2020). Green Edge ice camp campaigns: understanding the processes controlling the under-ice Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom. Earth System Science Data, 12(1), 151–176. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-151-2020

2019

Matthes, L.C., Ehn, J.K., L.-Girard, S., Pogorzelec, N.M., Babin, M. and Mundy, C.J. (2019). Average cosine coefficient and spectral distribution of the light field under sea ice: Implications for primary production. Elem Sci Anth, 7(1), p.25. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.363

2018

Barber, D.G., Babb, D.G., Ehn, J.K., Chan, W., Matthes, L., Dalman, L.A., Campbell, Y., Harasyn, M.L., Firoozy, N., Theriault, N., Lukovich, J.V., Zagon, T., Papakyriakou, T., Capelle, D.W., Forest, A., Gariepy, A. (2018). Increasing mobility of high Arctic Sea ice increases marine hazards off the east coast of Newfoundland. Geophysical Research Letters, 45. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076587