INSEAD Annual Report 2023-20143 test - Flipbook - Page 17
Projects
Marine Science 2023
15
Multi-scale
Oceanographic Modelling
Lead investigator: Dr. Phil Hosegood,
University of Plymouth
Animals use ocean currents and changes in water
properties to move and feed. Particles, including
larvae, microplastics and contaminants, are
suspended in the water and drift at the mercy of
these currents. The ocean is a tremendously complex
environment, with currents arising from a myriad
of mechanisms such as tides, wind, sea surface
elevation and internal density differences that each
evolve at different timescales. Added complexity
arises because of natural global climate patterns or
when these currents meet seamounts and islands,
and also because of anthropogenic change. The truly
effective management of the marine environment
therefore requires an understanding of how animals
throughout the food web exploit, and respond to,
changes in water properties and currents.
This complex project combines oceanographers,
physicists, and biologists to better understand
how ocean currents influence the distribution and
behaviour of threatened species such as manta
rays in the Indian Ocean. The development of
oceanographic numerical models that simulate
conditions throughout the Western Indian Ocean
helps understand which factors create biodiversity
hotspots that require the highest levels of protection.
