Ocean-coral reef interactions: physics meets biology
| When |
Jul 03, 2015
from 10:45 to 12:00 |
|---|---|
| Where | Centre Blaise Pascal |
| Attendees |
Greg Ivey |
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The Oceanic Shoals Bioregion of the Timor Sea is characterized by a series of both emergent and submerged coral reef atoll systems near the edge of the continental shelf in waters up to 500m deep. The region is a unique and pristine biological hotspot and also an area with extensive oil and gas fields currently under exploration and development. The ocean is strongly density-stratified and subject to very strong tidal forcing. The talk will describe the preliminary results from a recent cruise designed to understand the fine-scale circulation and transport processes that connect the surrounding ocean with Scott Reef, a large emergent coral reef atoll in the region. In addition to physical oceanographic measurements, extensive ROV mapping of the benthic coral communities was completed. The overall goal is to understand the connections between the physical oceanographic dynamics and the biological communities in such systems for both engineering development and environmental management of the region.