Biology Seminar Series Dr. Casey Shine Middlebury College Southern Ocean primary productivity

The surprising role hydrothermal vents play in driving Southern Ocean primary production
Dr. Casey Schine, Middlebury College, Postdoctoral Research Associate
I will present work on a hydrothermally influenced phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean and discuss how earthquakes are a major driver of interannual variability in the intensity of the bloom. The emergence of hydrothermal vents as significant drivers of primary production in the surface ocean has opened up questions about their current influence on the global carbon cycle and the degree to which changes in hydrothermal output associated with changing sea level may have impacted carbon sequestration in the deep ocean during glacial-interglacial climate cycles.