From bloom to gloom – Primary production, food-web processes and vertical flux in changing oceans, 29 July -7 August 2013 at Hólar University College, Iceland
The PhD course covers the main aspects involved in regulation of vertical flux in the ocean. These include production and aggregation of sinking particles by phytoplankton and zooplankton, degradation and consumption of particles by bacteria and zooplankton.
The course will give you up-to-date information on particle fluxes, the processes regulating export. You will get a hand-on training in field and laboratory studies on: measuring sinking fluxes, particle dynamics and zooplankton production/degradation rates. A special focus will be on how to generate and use simple models simulating particle flux.
In addition, the course offers you ample opportunity to network with your fellow students and teachers and to discuss your own research with the international experts in the field.
Learning objectives
After the course you will be able to:
- describe the processes involved in vertical fluxes and the external factors influencing these processes
- describe alternative ways to measure particle distributions and sinking fluxes and quantify particle distributions in the field
- set up and conduct experiments to measure particle production and degradation
- set up a simple model describing particle dynamics
- analyse results from biological experiments / field sampling using appropriate statistics
- describe how environmental forcing influences biogeochemical fluxes, and how geoengineering can be used to enhance the ocean’s uptake of carbon
- formulate knowledge-based arguments in debates on up-to-date issues related to biogeochemical fluxes.
Course content
The course consists of lectures, practical field and laboratory work, data analysis and a model exercise.
Funding
Support for students from underprivileged countries is provided by SCOR. The current list of eligible countries can be found on SCOR's website.
Further information
Senior research scientist Sigrun Jόnasdόttir, DTU Aqua, + 45 35 88 34 27, and research scientist Jörg Dutz, DTU Aqua, + 45 35 88 34 18,
The course is financed by
The course is supported by