Project
Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry research programme: modelling
Completed project
Project start: January 2013 | Project end: March 2018Funder: Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
Principal Investigator: Professor Icarus Allen
Other participants from PML: Claire Widdicombe, Dr Gennadi Lessin, Dr James Clark, Dr Luca Polimene, Dr Momme Butenschon, Dr Vassilis Kitidis, Dr Yuri Artioli, Jerry Blackford
Website: http://www.shelfseasmodelling.org
The shelf seas are of major importance to society, providing a diverse range of goods, such as fisheries, renewable energy, transport and services like carbon and nutrient cycling. This project aims to provide a better understanding of the functioning of the shelf seas and how they will respond to future global change and human pressures.
The shelf seas are hugely valuable to life on Earth, but they are under considerable stress as a result of overfishing, habitat disturbance, climate change and other impacts. However, even within the relatively well-studied European shelf seas, fundamental biogeochemical processes are poorly understood. Through developing new model systems the scientists in this project will increase our capacity to predict impacts of environmental change from days to decades. Improved knowledge of such factors is not only required by marine policy makers, it also has the potential to increase the quality and cost-effectiveness of management decisions at local, national and international levels under conditions of climate change.
We are an essential partner in the Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry research programme work packages and at the forefront of modelling shelf seas ecosystems.
For updates from the Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry programme, see their blog.