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SUMMARY:EPFL BioE Talks SERIES  "On Microbes and Particles: The Ocean at t
 he Microscale"
DTSTART:20250526T121500
DTEND:20250526T131500
DTSTAMP:20260916T085034Z
UID:0535892660979affa45f447b0e59e1f53e62e4915132818d51ec4450
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Roman Stocker\, Institute of Environmental Engineering\,
  ETH Zurich (CH)\nWEEKLY EPFL BIOE TALKS SERIES (sandwiches provided)\n\nA
 bstract:\nThe sinking of organic particles is a main driver of carbon expo
 rt from the ocean surface to depth\, where it can remain stored for centur
 ies. Only a small fraction of the particulate carbon that leaves the surfa
 ce makes it to the ocean bottom\, in part due to degradation of particles 
 by marine bacteria. Yet\, the processes by which bacteria find\, colonise 
 and degrade particles\, and their associated rates\, have remained largely
  unknown. I will present microfluidic experiments at the single-particle l
 evel to illustrate the rich interplay between particle dynamics and microb
 ial processes\, as well as mathematical models to scale up the observed pa
 rticle degradation dynamics to predict the vertical carbon flux. I will fo
 cus on two findings. First\, I will show that the rate of degradation of p
 articles depends on the particle sinking speed\, a process we termed ’si
 nking-enhanced degradation’\, which couples two parameters (sinking rate
 \, degradation rate) traditionally considered independent in carbon flux m
 odels. Second\, I will present evidence that the sinking speed of particle
 s is itself affected by microbial processes\, not only through degradation
 \, but also through the scavenging of bogeys of microbial origin\, which s
 low particle descent by increasing drag and buoyancy.\n\nBio:\nRoman Stock
 er is a professor of environmental engineering at ETH Zurich and formerly 
 at MIT. Roman pioneered a new approach to microbial ecology\, based on the
  combination of microfluidics\, video microscopy and mathematical modeling
 \, which allowed him to address a long-standing challenge in oceanography:
  the need to study marine microbes quantitatively at the single-cell level
  and with explicit consideration of the highly dynamic processes that sha
 pe their lives. This microscale\, mechanistic understanding is then used t
 o better understand the myriad of ecological and biogeochemical impacts th
 at microorganisms have at ocean-scale. Roman’s research group\, which b
 rings together engineers\, physicists\, biologists and mathematicians\, 
 uses quantitative experiments in the laboratory and in the field in combin
 ation with individual-based and continuum models to understand microscale 
 processes in the ocean\, including microbial motility and sensing\, the ro
 le of microbes in the marine carbon cycle\, harmful algal blooms\, coral d
 isease\, oil degradation\, viral infection and bacteria–phytoplankton in
 teractions. Roman has brought to the field a unique combination of (1) ima
 ging and image analysis\, revealing previously unseen processes\; (2) new 
 engineering tools\, including microfabrication and 3D printing\, providing
  unprecedented access to quantitative experiments on marine microbes\; and
  (3) an intimate connection between observations and mathematical models\,
  as necessary to identify general principles of microbial ecosystems. More
  recently\, the group has expanded its interests to apply the same integra
 tion of different approaches to the study of ecohydraulics\, where the eff
 ects of fluid flow and transport on aquatic organisms from invertebrates t
 o fish are studied in order to understand the effect of anthropogenic dist
 urbances on freshwater ecosystems. Roman’s work has frequently appeared 
 in high-profile journals including Science\, Nature and the Proceeding
 s of the National Academy of Sciences\, and has been featured in popular m
 edia including the BBC\, CNN and The New York Times.\n\n\nZoom link (with
  one-time registration for the whole series) for attending remotely: https
 ://go.epfl.ch/EPFLBioETalks\n\n\nInstructions for 1st-year Ph.D. students 
 planning to attend this talk\, who are under EDBB’s mandatory seminar at
 tendance rule:\nIN CASE you cannot attend in-person in the room\, please m
 ake sure to\n\n	send D. Reinhard a note well ahead of time (ideally before
  seminar day)\, informing that you plan to attend the talk online\, and\, 
 during seminar:\n	be signed in on Zoom with a recognizable user name (not 
 any alias making it difficult or impossible to identify you).\n\nStudents 
 attending the seminar in-person should collect a confirmation signature af
 ter the talk - please print your own signature sheet beforehand (69 kB pdf
  available for download here). IMPORTANTLY: hang on to this sheet as no si
 gnature record is being kept by anyone else!
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717 https://go.epfl.ch/
 EPFLBioETalks
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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