Ocean circulation and its variability in the Southern Indian Ocean from instrumented seal
This is a suggestion for a Degree Project for Bachelor's and Master's levels at the Department of Marine 91̽»¨s. Degree projects at the Department of Marine 91̽»¨s are done independently and must be written and assessed individually.
Subject: Oceanography
Level: Bachelor or Master
Supervisor: Fabien Roquet
Project background
Due to its great meridional extent and relatively shallow depths, the Kerguelen Plateau constitutes a major barrier to the eastward flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. The circulation over the Kerguelen Plateau is very weak, which favors the occurrence of strong chlorophyll blooms in spring supporting a large marine community and important CO2 uptakes.
Understanding the structure and variability of chlorophyll blooms requires a detailed knowledge of the regional circulation over the Kerguelen Plateau, historically limited by the paucity of in situ data in this remote and infrequently visited area.
Since 2004, a new approach using elephant seals instrumented in the Kerguelen Islands with temperature/salinity loggers has provided a host of new information over the Kerguelen Plateau at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution.
Combined with other in situ datasets and satellite measurements, seal-derived hydrographic data have the potential to bring a detailed picture of the fine-scale circulation over the Northern Kerguelen Plateau, including a description of its seasonal and interannual modes of variability.
Project description
During this project, the student will analyze seal-derived hydrographic data in the region of the Kerguelen Plateau.
In particular, the student will extract and map mixed-layer properties (depth, temperature, and salinity) for different years and different seasons, building a finely-resolved climatology and assessing interannual variability over the last 15 years.
References
Roquet, F., et al., 2009. Observations of the Fawn Trough Current over the Kerguelen Plateau from instrumented elephant seals. J. Mar. Syst., 78:377-393.
Park, Y.-H., et al., 2008. Large-scale circulation over and around the Northern Kerguelen Plateau. Deep Sea Research Part II, 55:566-581.
Pauthenet, E., Roquet, F., Madec, G., Guinet, C., Hindell, M., McMahon, C. R., Harcourt, R., and Nerini, D., 2018. Seasonal meandering of the Polar Front upstream of the Kerguelen Plateau. Geophysical Research Letters.
More information
MEOP website:
91̽»¨
Fabien Roquet
Email: fabien.roquet@gu.se