Interdisciplinary applications

[Tobias Schulzki, Arne Biastoch]

Prolonged periods of unusually high ocean temperatures, known as marine heatwaves, can have severe consequences for marine ecosystems and influence the atmospheric circulation, altering inland temperatures and precipitation patterns. We explore the characteristics, drivers, and impacts of these extreme events from the surface to the deep ocean, how they have evolved in the past and how they may change in the future. Our research enhances the assessment of vulnerable ecosystems, deepens our understanding of ocean-atmosphere interactions during extreme events, and contributes to more accurate predictions.

[Lara Schmittmann, Tobias Schulzki, Arne Biastoch, Andreas Lehmann, Willi Rath, Daniel Lizarbe]

Physical processes in the ocean impact marine life, for example via the dispersal of small organisms and other objects that passively drift with ocean currents. We use Lagrangian simulations to study dispersal of various organisms (e.g., fish or coral larvae or juvenile sea turtles) or marine diseases. This way, we can predict dispersal distances and distributions, variability in space and time, or connectivity between geographic regions. The implications range from understanding the physical component of population connectivity, to risk assessments of disease outbreaks, and conservation.

[Willi Rath, Arne Biastoch, Lara Schmittmann, Leon-Cornelius Mock, Daniel Lizarbe, Stephan Juricke]

For the physical and interdisciplinary interpretation of our simulations, we use Lagrangian techniques: Virtual particles are transported by the three-dimensional time-varying currents. These particles can simulate passive drift (e.g., for water masses) or active movement representing either additional physical processes (e.g., for buoyant particles) or behaviour of living organisms (e.g., diurnal vertical migration). The analysis of Lagrangian simulations requires the development of methods for millions of particle trajectories.

Projects in the ocean dynamics group applying Lagrangian dispersal simulations concern, e.g., eddy evolution and the spread of Antarctic bottom water and various topics related to biological dispersal. Additionally, we contribute to the open-source Lagrangian software OceanParcels, e.g., as part of ELPHE.