A couple of the lab’s projects connect the deep ocean to processes on the coastal shelf.
For example, the harmful algal bloom (HAB) work examined the impacts of a river plume on transport pathways and connectivity along the shelf and across the shelf.
A new Office of Naval Research funded project examines similar processes in the Island Nation of the Seychelles. We plan to use observations and numerical simulations to understand the physical oceanographic controls on mass and momentum transport on scales that are relevant to local ecology and fisheries including analysis of inter-island connectivity and connectivity with the deep ocean. The islands sit atop a shallow, large plateau, akin to a shelf. We will examine the impact of large scale oceanic circulation (the equatorial currents and eddies) on local circulation thus connecting the deep ocean with the shelf and the islands. Thus this work is similar to the HAB work in that it addresses connectivity over a shelf region and across the shelf to the deep ocean.