About the project
The project aims to use available data and a variety of analysis and statistical tools to identify seasonal to decadal patterns of variability in the marine ecosystems off South Africa and how these change in time and space. It further aims to use atmospheric, physical and biological models to complement these observations, testing hypothesised causes of change and the ways in which processes impacted at one scale might propagate to other scales. The main focus of the project is on processes that occur on time scales of less than one year, which includes, for example, seasonal changes and changes associated with coastal upwelling events, transient eddies and filaments. These short-term processes influence primary and secondary production, and changes in the timing, frequency and intensity of these events over the medium- to long-term can cause shifts in the structure and functioning of the marine ecosystem. The project aims to predict the likely implications of such change for biodiversity and marine living resources. The project is designed as an interdisciplinary collaboration among partners at the University of Cape Town, the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre in Bergen, the University of Bergen and the University of Oslo. The expertise associated with the project spans the disciplines of atmospheric science, physical oceanography and marine biology, with skill sets encompassing data acquisition (especially from satellites), data analysis, statistics and modelling.
The project is divided into three connected work packages, each of which covers at least two disciplines, and which are themselves linked through exchange of data and data products.
- Work package 1: Influence of seasonal to decadal variability on fished marine resources and their predators
- Work package 2: Testing ecosystem responses to variability and change
- Work package 3: Environmental drivers, interactions, indicators and variability
CEES co-chair the Work package 1.
Financing
This project funded by The Research Council of Norway through the NANSEN ENVlRONMENTAL AND REMOTE SENSING CENTER (NERSC).
Period
Start 1.4.2014. End 31.3.2017