The Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC) program marked a fundamental change in research into marine population variability. GLOBEC fostered an important shift in how research programs are structured by including integration of coupled physical-biological modeling and observations from the initial phases of research programs. The development and implementation of coupled physical-biological models of ecosystem dynamics based on processes that influenced individual organisms has been the core approach used in GLOBEC. These models have provided mechanistic understanding of the variability in abundance and distribution of marine populations and have allowed linking these across local, regional and basin scales. Understanding the connectivity between the environment and organism at a range of space and time scales has significantly advanced as a result of GLOBEC science. This seminar will provide an overview of the significant role of GLOBEC science in advancing understanding of physical-biological coupling and how this has made projections of marine population variability in response to climate change a feasible goal.

Eileen Hofmann has been involved in the GLOBEC program as a member of the US and International Science Steering Committees and as Chair of the Southern Ocean GLOBEC program. She was recently appointed as the next Chair of the Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research Program (IMBER) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, which will continue GLOBEC science. Dr. Hofmann's research interests are in the areas of physical-biological interactions in marine ecosystems, climate control of diseases of marine shellfish populations, descriptive physical oceanography, and mathematical modeling of marine ecosystems.

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