Impact of small-scale physics on marine biology: Preface

Abstract

This special issue [of the Journal of Marine Systems] collects some of the papers presented at the 2nd Warnemünde Turbulence Days, held during September 28–30, 2005. This meeting is organised by the Baltic Sea Research Institute at Warnemünde, Germany on a biannual basis (see http://www.io-warnemuende.de/phy/wtd). Its aim is to provide a discussion forum for experts interested in aquatic turbulence research with short presentations and ample opportunities to exchange ideas in a relaxed environment.

The topic for the 2005 meeting was "Impact of small-scale physics on marine biology". Hydrodynamics and marine life interact at several scales. Vertical mixing interacts with the distribution of particles and the nutrient and light fields that plankton experiences in the water column determining its population dynamics. Small-scale turbulence seems to increase the flux of nutrients towards diffusion-limited cells, to promote the encounter rate of prey particles with their predators and to interfere with the physiology of some planktonic organisms, such as dinoflagellates. Turbulence also interacts with suspended particles by aggregating and disaggregating particulate organic matter with important consequences for the export flux of organic matter to deep waters. Benthic organisms may modify the hydrodynamic regime around them with structures that modify the boundary layer and consequences for their feeding and growth. These are just a few paintbrushes of interactions between hydrodynamics and plankton subject to ongoing research. This topic is growingly important for solving societal problems such as fisheries sustainability, harmful algal blooms, coastal eutrophication and climate change impacts. Consequently, it is included in a range of international programs: IMBER (http://www.imber.info), LOICZ (http://www.loicz.org), GOOS (http://www.iocgoos.org), GEOHAB (http://www.jhu.edu/scor/GEOHABfront.htm) and GLOBEC (http://www.globec.org), to name just a few.

The meeting was organised in six plenary sessions: 1. Advanced instrumentation; 2. Small-scale turbulence: field studies and modelling; 3. The impact of turbulence on plankton; 4. Particle interaction and behaviour; 5. Stochastic model studies; and 6. The impact of turbulence on the ecosystem. The meeting was attended by 40 plus researchers from 12 different countries. In total, there were 27 oral presentations