Oceanography Seminar

October 10, 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Mānoa Campus, MSB 100

Matthew J. Church
Associate Professor
Department of Oceanography
University of Hawaii

“The Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program turns 25: Highlights of a quarter century of sustained observations in the sea”

Abstract: In October 2013, the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program begins its 25th year of sustained ocean measurements at the open ocean field site Station ALOHA (22°45´N, 158°W). The resulting time-resolved suite of measurements has fundamentally changed our view of ecosystem variability in the subtropical North Pacific. The emergent data highlight connectivity between ocean-climate, plankton ecology, and biogeochemistry over episodic to decadal time scales. The sustained, high quality observations have provided new insights into previously unrecognized ocean processes and have highlighted the necessity of interdisciplinary science to study variability in the ocean state. Among the many achievements of this program, HOT has contributed our understanding of long-term trends in ocean carbon inventories and fluxes, documented previously unrecognized temporal variability in nutrient fluxes and inventories, and documented the important role of plankton community structure in carbon sequestration. The program has evolved to become a stable component of oceanographic community and continues to draw international attention to the University of Hawaii. One measure of the increasing value of HOT science is the continued expansion of research and education programs based at Station ALOHA, including diverse autonomous and remote sensing platforms. In this presentation I will describe several key findings to emerge from the first 25 years of HOT, making the case that oceanographic time-series programs are essential to helping us understand the nature of ocean change.


Ticket Information
Free

Event Sponsor
Oceanography, Mānoa Campus

More Information
956-7633

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