Modeling Particles in the Ocean

Particulate material plays a crucial role in many important processes in the ocean. They provide food for organism from the surface to the seafloor, they play critical roles in the partitioning and availability of key elements, they transport organic nutrients, and are key for understanding carbon sequestration by the oceans. In spite of this importance, particles and particle-dependent processes are usually represented quite simply in global models, and for good reasons. In this talk I will describe some of the roles that particles play in oceanographic processes, discuss their representations in models of those processes, and describe the methods we are using to improve our understanding of particle-based processes in the oceans.

Host: Dr. Adrian Marchetti