My research interests are broadly focused on the spatial and temporal patterns of plankton in the oceans. The oceans are NOT a homogenous soup, but are extremely patchy in both space and time, and in terms of both biomass and community structure. I have a special interest in plankton interactions with the physical environment; links to current structure, water mass shifts, seasonal cycles, interannual variability, climate-related signals, wind forcing, etc. Geographically, my research is divided between two regions 1) the Gulf of Maine, a small but fascinating chunk of ocean with strong tidal forcing, a huge seasonal signal, surprising spatial heterogeneity and still poorly understood interannual variability, and 2) global Eastern Boundary Currents, some of the most biologically productive regions on the planet with strong wind forcing, upwelling and large interannual variability (ENSO, PDO etc). I make an extensive use of satellite data to try to quantify the patterns I'm interested in. The tools of my trade are many fast computers, big monitors, huge on-line disk storage space, computer graphics, data bases, GIS and remote sensing software. In my lab we primarily use satellite sea surface temperature (NOAA and MODIS) and ocean color imagery (SeaWIFS and MODIS data), but also use scatterometer data, synthetic aperture radar imagery, and dabble in altimeter, LANDSAT data and airborne multispectral imagery. My research is inherently multidisciplinary. I often work in large teams of scientists, including biological and physical oceanographers, fisheries oceanographers, statistitians, numerical modelers, digital image specialists and marine resource managers. My colleagues are spead over a wide geography: e.g. Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, California, Georgia, Chile, Spain.
Articles
Satellite-Derived Variability in Chlorophyll, Wind Stress, Sea Surface Height, and Temperature in the Northern California Current System (with R. M. Venegas, P. T. Strub, E. Beier, R. Letelier, T. Cowles, C. James, L. Soto-Mardones, and C. Cabrera), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (2008)
Satellite-derived data provide the temporal means and seasonal and nonseasonal variability of four physical and...
Spatial Patterns of Intraseasonal Variability of Chlorophyll and Sea Surface Temperature in the California Current (with K. R. Legaard), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (2007)
Six years of daily satellite data are used to quantify and map intraseasonal variability of...
Interannual Variability in Timing of Bloom Initiation in the California Current System (with S. A. Henson), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (2007)
In the California Current System the spring transition from poleward to equatorward alongshore wind stress...
Phytoplankton Scales of Variability in the California Current System: 1. Interannual and Cross-Shelf Variability (with S. A. Henson), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (2007)
In the California Current System, strong mesoscale variability associated with eddies and meanders of the...
Phytoplankton Scales of Variability in the California Current System: 2. Latitudinal Variability (with S. A. Henson), Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans (2007)
The California Current System encompasses a southward flowing current which is perturbed by ubiquitous mesoscale...