Youngju Lee, PhD

What’s the work that you do?

As a marine phytoplankton ecologist, I focus on studying how phytoplankton communities in the polar oceans respond to environmental changes. Specifically, I am interested in investigating the spatial distributions of phytoplankton species composition and biomass, as well as their temporal changes, onboard the icebreaker research vessel ‘Araon’ in the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans, and at the Korean scientific stations in Antarctica.

What keeps you going?

Marine phytoplankton in polar oceans exhibit distinct physiological and ecological characteristics when compared to those in tropical and temperate oceans. However, they are often understudied due to the challenges of accessing these remote areas. Despite these challenges, uncovering their secrets in the unknown areas of the ocean keeps me going. I hope that these studies will help to raise awareness and preserve the stunning ice worlds in Antarctica and the Arctic ocean.

What’s your message to the world?

Are you finding it hard to breathe due to fine dust? Are you stuck at home due to COVID-19? Let’s show some love and care for our planet. We need to consider whether our careless actions are causing harm to our beautiful planet. If we fail to act, the consequences of our actions will eventually come back to haunt us. A beautiful coastal city might be submerged under the sea. Time is running out, so we must act fast.