Dispersion of micro-organisms in geophysical turbulence (ESF.6239)

The dispersion of micro-organisms, like plankton and fish larvae, and (contaminated) particles in oceans, estuaries and lakes is governed by turbulent velocity fluctuations. In geophysical flows, the Coriolis and buoyancy forces modify the turbulence properties, and this affects the turbulent dispersion of (biologically active) particles considerably. Relevant questions are: How does geophysical turbulence affect the marine-population dynamics? How does turbulence effectively enhance the aggregation of (organic) particles? Technological and economical relevance of the development of high-resolution, large-scale computer models for combined geophysical flow and ecology simulations is found in cost reduction for the fisheries, dredging and tourism industry (early warning systems against harmful algal blooms, optimisation of dredging), and the increased international competitiveness of Dutch consultancy companies having access to such codes.
The Lagrangian description of turbulence, based on the idea that the observer is moving with the fluid particles, is a newly emerging and promising field of research.
Understanding it is a prerequisite for dispersion studies of interacting biological species in geophysical turbulence. I propose here an original, and in this field an innovative, bottom-up approach to investigate the dispersion of micro-organisms in turbulent flows from the micro-scale dynamics towards intermediate and larger scales of geophysical flows. The central question is: How can we formulate 'interaction models' for the dynamics of biologically active micro-organisms in geophysical turbulence, and can we experimentally validate these models and apply them for combined flow and ecology simulations?
The PI's expertise in the field of computational physics, the excellent experimental laboratory facilities of the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at TU/e, and the promising contacts with renowned biological scientists, provide an excellent opportunity to initiate this new and exciting direction of research on dispersion of biologically active particles in turbulent flows.

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