"Ecosystem Modelling" deals with the development and application of numerical models of marine ecosystems. The main aim is to contribute to the understanding of the functioning of marine ecosystems by investigating and estimating the transfers and transports of carbon and nutrients through the plankton system as part of the marine ecosystem, especially in the pelagic environment. The models are validated by comparing the simulation results to observations. The areas of application concentrate on the North Atlantic and its adjacent shelf seas, especially on the North Sea. The research is carried out in national and international European cooperation. The results of the research are also presented in the teaching.

Aims

We develop and test hypotheses about the functioning of marine ecosystems. The main focus is the pelagic ecosystem of the North Sea and the North Atlantic, and the coupling between them. Simulation models of the main pathways of matter are developed and tested in relation to observations. Research objectives are

• Functioning of the North Sea / North Atlantic ecosystem
• Mass budgets for nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon and carbon taking into account external forcings, river and atmospheric input, biogeochemical transfer and pelagic-benthic exchange processes
• Exchange of matter between shelf sea / deep ocean / coastal zone / atmosphere
• Population dynamics of zooplankton / Individual Based Modelling of fish larvae
• Evaluation of measures of coastal zone management
• Data organisation / project data management