ENAC Seminar Series by Dr. Bieito Fernández Castro
13:15 – 14:15 – Dr. Bieito Fernández Castro
Marie Curie Research Fellow, University of Southampton, UK
The role of ocean turbulence in shaping aquatic life and vice versa
Centimetre-scale turbulent mixing has a vast impact on the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, as it regulates the nutrient, oxygen and light environments of primary producers and, consequently, the complex, multi-trophic biota that such producers support. The question of whether the reverse is true – that is, whether marine organisms are capable of generating turbulence that is sufficiently vigorous to shape the ocean’s physical and chemical properties – has been hotly debated by oceanographers since the 1960s. The parties remain irreconcilable today as, on the one hand, theoretical and laboratory studies indicate that dense fish aggregations should generate intense turbulent mixing; yet, on the other, the observation of this mixing has to date eluded oceanographic surveys. In this talk, I will briefly introduce my previous research efforts in disentangling the sources and variability of turbulent mixing and their broad impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Then, I will tell you about a recent study in which we shed new light on the “biomixing” debate, by reporting recurrent evidence from direct ocean observations of strong turbulent mixing associated with fish spawning aggregations. Finally, I will outline my main research lines that I plan to develop at EPFL.
Short bio:
I am an highly interdisciplinary observational aquatic physicist, working in both oceanic and lacustrine environments. The goal of my research is to understand how physical and biogeochemical processes interact across spatial and temporal scales to shape the functioning of oceanic and freshwater ecosystems and their role in the global carbon cycle and climate. Currently, I am a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Southampton. In this project, I use novel biogeochemical data from autonomous Argo floats and a data-assimilative model to disentangle the processes controlling carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Previously, I was a PhD student in Oceanography at the University of Vigo (Spain), a postdoctoral Fellow in the Marine Research Institute of the Spanish Research Council (Vigo, Spain) and a Research Assistant at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland).
Marie Curie Research Fellow, University of Southampton, UK
The role of ocean turbulence in shaping aquatic life and vice versa
Centimetre-scale turbulent mixing has a vast impact on the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, as it regulates the nutrient, oxygen and light environments of primary producers and, consequently, the complex, multi-trophic biota that such producers support. The question of whether the reverse is true – that is, whether marine organisms are capable of generating turbulence that is sufficiently vigorous to shape the ocean’s physical and chemical properties – has been hotly debated by oceanographers since the 1960s. The parties remain irreconcilable today as, on the one hand, theoretical and laboratory studies indicate that dense fish aggregations should generate intense turbulent mixing; yet, on the other, the observation of this mixing has to date eluded oceanographic surveys. In this talk, I will briefly introduce my previous research efforts in disentangling the sources and variability of turbulent mixing and their broad impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Then, I will tell you about a recent study in which we shed new light on the “biomixing” debate, by reporting recurrent evidence from direct ocean observations of strong turbulent mixing associated with fish spawning aggregations. Finally, I will outline my main research lines that I plan to develop at EPFL.
Short bio:
I am an highly interdisciplinary observational aquatic physicist, working in both oceanic and lacustrine environments. The goal of my research is to understand how physical and biogeochemical processes interact across spatial and temporal scales to shape the functioning of oceanic and freshwater ecosystems and their role in the global carbon cycle and climate. Currently, I am a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Southampton. In this project, I use novel biogeochemical data from autonomous Argo floats and a data-assimilative model to disentangle the processes controlling carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Previously, I was a PhD student in Oceanography at the University of Vigo (Spain), a postdoctoral Fellow in the Marine Research Institute of the Spanish Research Council (Vigo, Spain) and a Research Assistant at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland).
Practical information
- General public
- Invitation required
- This event is internal
Organizer
- ENAC
Contact
- Victoria Sanjuan