TITLE: Role of micro-zooplankton for the global ocean biogeochemistry

PhD STUDENT: Sevrine Sailley
SUPERVISOR & CO-SUPERVISOR(S)
Christine Klaas, Dieter Wolf-Gladrow (Bremerhaven)
Corinne Le Quéré, Erik Buitenhuis (UEA and BAS)

Phd to be held at the Alfred Wegner Institute of Polar and Marine Research
The student will spend a few months at the University of East Anglia (UEA) or at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The oceans absorb one quarter of the fossil fuel CO2 emitted to the atmosphere every year. Will this CO2 sink continue in the future? To answer this question, we need to understand the factors that control the respiration of organic carbon at the ocean surface. Micro-zooplankton respiration is one important factor. Although a substantial amount of field and laboratory measurements have been made, this work has not been synthesized to the point where it can be included in a global ocean biogeochemistry model.

The student will use a combined approach of data collection and synthesis to understand the behavior of micro-zooplankton, with respect to their rates of growth, death, feeding habits, and their dependence on temperature and food availability. With this description of micro-zooplankton behavior, the student will incorporate these relationships in the PlankTOM Dynamic Green Ocean Model, perform sensitivity analyses and explore the role of microzooplankton in the global carbon cycle, its interannual variability and sensitivity to climate change.

The incumbent will gain experience in modeling marine biogeochemistry, and with the analysis of observations for model validation. The incumbent will work as part of a small but dynamic and highly international group and in collaboration with a worldwide network of marine ecologists and ocean modelers.