” Coupling and Decoupling Between Upwelling and Biological Response in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems ” 

Talk Summary: “Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems support productive marine ecosystems fueled by coastal upwelling, which supplies nutrients into the ocean sunlit surface layer. However, upwelling and biology can become decoupled due to the combined effects of biology-mediated temporal lags and/or persistence, and horizontal advection by surface currents. This decoupling makes it challenging to identify how upwelling drives biological patterns and requires searching beyond conventional correlation analysis. In this talk, I will show how we can uncover the link between upwelling and biological response, including plankton, carbon export, and deep-sea animals, by using minimalistic mechanistic models. I will also present how the knowledge gained can be used to predict upwelling-driven biological changes across broad spatial regions.”

Dr. Monique Messié is a Senior Research Specialist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). She is a biological oceanographer who integrates data from different disciplines (from physics to ecosystems), different instruments (from AUVs to satellites), and different regions (from Monterey Bay to global) to study ecosystem processes and physical/biological interactions in both coastal regions and open oceans. She analyzes data using statistical and machine learning techniques to investigate relationships between physics and biology in the ocean, and tests them using mathematical models.

Coffee and snacks provided!