Seminar on California Current

Black-footed albatross, a denizen of the California Current.\Photo by Scott Carpenter.

The Hatfield Marine Science Center continues with its Thursday research seminar series online.  This week’s talk concerns the California Current, the large marine ecosystem off Oregon’s shore.  Presenter Nathali Cordero Quiros will speak on “Future changes in eddy kinetic energy in the California Current System from three downscaled climate projections.”  The virtual event, free and open to the public, takes place on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 3:30 p.m.

Dr. Cordero Quiros is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California at Santa Cruz and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Her description of her topic:

“The highly productive region of the California Current System is influenced by the energetic mesoscale field associated with the upwelling jet. Baroclinic instabilities of the jet originate eddies and filaments that play an important role in the transport, distribution, and aggregation of biogenic material such as nutrients, chlorophyll, and larvae. Understanding the evolution of the mesoscale field as the ocean gets warmer and more stratified is key for projecting future changes of the regional ecosystem. One way of quantifying mesoscale activity is by looking at its signature in the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) to which mesoscale eddies are a major contributor. In this study, we use high resolution climate projections of the CCS from 1980 to 2100 to analyze the evolution of EKE. By the end of the century, we find an increase in EKE that is closely related to enhanced stratification of the CCS associated with long-term ocean warming.”

To register for this event, go to https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/94555731151?pwd=RnJ6eVg0ODdzRUpVc0pQbUlIdUV3dz09

Dial-In Information: +1-971-247-1195 US Meeting ID: 945 5573 1151