MECODIHR · MEchanisms of Coupling of Ocean Dynamics and Intermediate trophic levels: High Resolution study
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-10-01 → 2021-09-30
- EU contribution
- €246,668
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
MEchanisms of Coupling of Ocean Dynamics and Intermediate trophic levels: High Resolution study
The open ocean is the largest biome on Earth, yet it is the least protected. A major obstacle to its conservation lies in the fine-grained understanding of how marine organisms are affected by the ocean dynamics. In the last decades, remote sensing and bio-logging drastically increased our understanding to how phytoplankton (that can be observed from space as ocean color) and large marine animals (that can be followed with sensors directly attached to them) responds to oceanic turbulence down to the mesoscale (few weeks-months, 50-300 km) and submesoscale (1-50 km, few hours to few days). A major knowledge gap still concerns the so-called "intermediate trophic levels" (ITLs, i.e. zooplankton and micronekton,) and how mesoscale currents (such as fronts and eddies) affect them. The MECODIHR project aimed understanding of these important yet poorly understood animals and how they interact with their environment at the (sub)mesoscale (including meso and submesoscale). Using echosounders (sonars that can be used to describe the spatial structure and abundance of small animals in the water column), mid-water trawls, optical sensors and satellite observations, we addressed the following questions focusing on the northwest Atlantic: Q1 – What is the (sub)mesoscale distribution of intermediate trophic levels (ITLs)? Q2 – What are the physical, biogeochemical, and ecological mechanisms controlling the spatial distribution of ITLs at the oceanic (sub)mesoscale? Q3 - How does the influence of (sub)mesoscale processes on ITLs changes in respect to the seasonal variability of submesoscale features and of primary production?
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The open ocean is the largest biome on Earth, yet it is the least protected. A major obstacle to its conservation lies in the fine-grained understanding of how marine organisms are affected by the ocean dynamics. In the last decades remote sensing and bio-logging drastically increased our understanding to how phytoplankton (that can be observed from space as ocean color) and large marine animals (that can be followed with sensors directly attached to them) responds to oceanic turbulence down to the mesoscale (few weeks-months, 10-100 km). A major knowledge gap still concerns the so-called ""intermediate trophic levels"" (ITLs, i.e. zooplankton and micronekton,) and how mesoscale currents (such as fronts and eddies) affect them. This is the focus of the MECODIHR project. The project uses an unprecedented combination of remote-sensing, and modelling on a multi-disciplinary in-situ database collected in the North-West Atlantic to identify patterns in the distribution of ITLs, relate them to physical structures and biogeochemical observations and make hypotheses about why such relationships arise. High-resolution state-of-the-art modelling allows to test the validity of the formulated hypotheses, clarify the mechanisms behind observed co-localisations and expand the extent of findings. High resolution in-situ measurements and modelling allows to approach how submesoscale dynamics (and its inter-seasonal variability) affect the distribution of ITLs. The MECODIHR results, acquired between the two multidisciplinary highly-reknown oceanographic laboratory of the University of Washington (outgoing phase : 2 years) and the Université de Bretagne Occidentale (incoming phase : 1 year), will provide critical information for open ocean conservation. The MECODIHR project will also train Dr. Della Penna with a rare combination of skills (including scientific, communicative, technical and transferable skills) that are fundamental to face the future challenges of marine sciences.""
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITE DE BREST · BRESTCoordinatorFrance
- UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · Seattle WaUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union