U.S.-France Cooperative Research: Biological Response Associated with Mesoscale Hydrodynamical Structures in the Western Mediterranean

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This two-year award supports cooperative research between T.D. Dickey of the University of Southern California and Isabelle Taupier-LeTage of the Center for Oceanography in Marseille, France. The investigators will study biological responses associated with the mesoscale hydrodynamical features in the western Mediterranean Sea. The objectives of their research are to develop two types of moored, interdisciplinary instrumentation, which will be utilized in studies of western Mediterranean mesoscale features, and to initiate joint field measurements. Dr. Dickey and his research group bring to the collaboration innovative approaches to moored instrumentation development and its application to multidisciplinary questions in oceanography. They have considerable expertise in the collection, analysis and modeling of bio-optical and physical data sets. This is complemented by the French group's experience with physical and biological measurements and theory relevant to the western Mediterranean Sea. Recent advances in interdisciplinary oceanic measurement systems now make it possible to collect physical and bio-optical data concurrently. Problems concerning the physical and biological processes, the carbon cycle, and global climate change require simultaneous and complementary moored measurements, ground truth and remote sensing observations. The further development of sensitive and accurate moored instrumentation will advance capabilities to collect information about these processes.