Marine Phytoplankton Response to Environmental Factors (Project ID=ocbgc-1)
Faculty Sponsor Keith Moore
      Phytoplankton form the base of the ocean food chain and strongly impact the carbon cycle and climate through the ocean biological pump. Ocean color satellite sensors are routinely used to estimate chlorophyll concentration in surface ocean waters. More recently these sensors have been applied to estimate the phytoplankton carbon biomass in surface waters, allowing estimates of the phytoplankton carbon and carbon/chlorophyll ratios from space.
      In this project the student will compare the satellite-based observations of these quantities with key environmental factors and output from a state of the art marine biogeochemical model. Changing light and nutrient availability lead to changes in phytoplankton C/Chl ratios. The student will analyze the satellite data in the context of the known distributions of light and nutrients in the oceans to better understand these relationships using a GIS software package. Model estimates of the degree of phytoplankton light and nutrient stress will be used to help understand the spatial and temporal patterns observed in the satellite observations. (Project time allocations: Computer lab = 100%, Chemistry lab = 0%, Fieldwork = 0%)

Back to UCI REU Projects Back to UCI REU Homepage Earth System Science Department