U.S. GLOBEC Georges Bank Program
The U.S.
GLOBEC Georges Bank Program is a large
multidisciplinary multi-year
oceanographic effort. The proximate goal is to understand the
population dynamics of key species on the Bank - Cod, Haddock, and two
species of zooplankton - in terms of their coupling to the physical
environment and in
terms of their predators and prey. The ultimate goal is to be able to
predict changes in the distribution and abundance of these species
as a result of changes in their physical and biotic environment as well
as to anticipate how their populations might respond to climate change.
The effort is substantial, requiring
- broad-scale surveys of the entire
Bank, and
- process studies which focus both on
- the links between the target
species and
their physical environment, and
- the determination of fundamental
aspects of these species' life history (birth rates, growth rates, death
rates, etc).
Equally important are the modelling efforts that are
ongoing which seek to provide realistic predictions of the flow field
and which utilize the life history information to produce an integrated
view of the dynamics of the populations.
This Program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.