Franks, P.,1, C. Chen2, E. Durbin3, W. Gentleman4, J. Pringle5, J. Runge6
1Marine Live Research Group, Scripps Institution of
Oceanograhphy, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla,
CA 92093-0218
2School of Marine Science and Technology, University
of Masshachusetts-Darmouth, New Bedore, MA 02744-1221
3Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode
Island, Narragansett, RI 02882
4University of Washington, School of Oceanography, Seattle,
WA, 98195-7940
5Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California,
San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92032
6Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory, University of New
Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824
In this project we intend to synthesize the physical, chemical,
meteorological, and biological data gathered during the US GLOBEC NW
Atlantic program, as well as auxiliary data, to gain insights into
the dynamics controlling seasonal and inter-annual variability of
copepod populations on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine. Our
work will explore two main avenues: the role of advection, and
population dynamics of zooplankton in the study region. The model
platform for our investigations will be the new unstructured
grid/finite-volume model of Chen et al. (2003). This model will be
coupled with life-history models of our target species, and
ecosystem models for the region. We will employ both
particle-tracking and Eulerian methods in our studies. In our first
phase of work we have begun the accumulation, synthesis, and quality
checking of the various data sets, including zooplankton data,
meteorological forcing, and boundary forcing (particularly the
northern model boundary on the Scotian Shelf). I will describe
some of the results our group has obtained to date, and the
directions we intend to follow over the next few years of the
project.
A powerpoint version and an html version of this presentation are available on-line.