Bertarelli-Annual-Report-2023-R9-low (1) - Flipbook - Page 17
Projects
Marine Science 2022
Multi-scale
Oceanographic
Modelling
Lead investigator: Dr. Phil Hosegood,
University of Plymouth
Animals use ocean currents and changes in water
properties to move and feed. Particles, including larvae,
microplastics and contaminants, are suspended in the
water and drift at the mercy of these currents. The ocean
is a tremendously complex environment, with currents
arising from a myriad of mechanisms such as tides, wind,
sea surface elevation and internal density differences
that each evolve at different timescales. Added
complexity arises because of natural global climate
patterns or when these currents meet seamounts and
islands, and also because of anthropogenic change. The
truly effective management of the marine environment
therefore requires an understanding of how animals
throughout the food web exploit, and respond to,
changes in water properties and currents.
This complex project combines oceanographers,
physicists, and biologists to better understand how
ocean currents influence the distribution and behaviour
of threatened species such as manta rays in the Indian
Ocean. The development of oceanographic numerical
models that simulate conditions throughout the
Western Indian Ocean helps understand which factors
create biodiversity hotspots that require the highest
levels of protection.
16