TITLE:

Exploring and capturing the dynamics of ocean-estuarine interactions across multiple scales

DATE:

Friday, March 23rd, 2018

TIME:

3:30 PM

LOCATION:

GMCS-314

SPEAKER:

Dr. Sarah Giddings, Assistant Professor, SIO, UCSD.

ABSTRACT:

Connectivity between the coastal ocean and estuaries as well as between
adjacent estuaries via river plumes can impact the physics as well as
the biology of these coastal systems. For example, rivers and estuaries
play a critical role in the delivery of terrigenous material (e.g., sediment,
larvae, contaminants) and freshwater to the coastal ocean; the latter
creating buoyancy fluxes that drive coastal circulation. Conversely
the ocean typically delivers high density, nutrient rich, oxygen poor
water into estuaries strongly impacting estuarine productivity and
dynamics. Here we use high resolution numerical simulations to explore
dynamics within estuaries and buoyant plumes across a range of spatial
and temporal scales: ranging from the interaction of small discharge
plumes with the surfzone to the impact of large plumes on the shelf
and beyond. Some discussion of how these coastal systems might respond
to a changing climate will be included. The ability to properly capture
the dynamics of ocean-estuarine interactions within numerical
simulations across a range of scales, including their representation
within global climate models and coupling with biogeochemical models,
will be explored.

HOST:

Dr. Jose Castillo

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