Project SWARM
Watch the video & think about the questions below!
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What do you think is located at a "hotspot" in Antarctica?
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Do you think the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot is more like a city, where the food is supplied from another location, or more like a farm that can grow the food?
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The SWARM scientists are trying to figure out this question and they need your help!​
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Use the research and data found on this website to help gather information about this question. You can also take a look at the other testable questions the scientists are researching below.
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The Testable Questions from the SWARM Scientists
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Are the phytoplankton and krill found in the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot transported there or is it a permanent habitat?
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What is responsible for the concentration of phytoplankton and krill above the mixed layer at the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot?
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What is responsible for the concentration of phytoplankton and krill below the mixed layer at the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot?
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Can 3D models be used to show the transport pathways that these phytoplankton and krill take to get to the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot?
The Hypotheses of the SWARM Scientists
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The Palmer Deep biological hotspot is a result of the surface transport of remote phytoplankton and krill, not local production alone.
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Convergent features in the surface mixed layer, targeted by Adélie penguins, are driven by local winds and tides that concentrate the food web above the mixed layer.
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Convergent features below the mixed layer, targeted by gentoo penguins, are driven by tides and the underlying bathymetry thatconcentrate the food web below the mixed layer.
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A 3-d model will show different transport pathways and food web concentrating mechanisms in known WAP hotspotscompared to non-hotspots.
SWARM TEAM
MEET THE
Dr. Josh Kohut
Physical Oceanographer
Josh grew up in Monmouth County New Jersey spending every moment he could on the water. His interest in racing sailboats at all levels instantly connected him to the interaction of the atmosphere with the ocean. As a high school student he connected most with physics and learned about the possibility of pursuing a career that aims to better understand the physics of the ocean and atmosphere, a physical oceanographer. He earned a B.S. in physics at the College of Charleston in South Carolina in 1997 and a Ph.D. in physical oceanography from Rutgers University in 2002. He is now a professor of oceanography at Rutgers University. His research interest includes processes that define the physical ocean that structures marine ecosystems (for example, temperature, salinity, and ocean currents). He utilizes ocean observing technologies that include satellites, high-frequency radar, and underwater gliding robots. His projects range from local processes impacting storm intensity, beach water quality, and fisheries habitat off the coast of New Jersey to regional scale questions related changing marine systems in Antarctica.
SWARM Project Details:
Dr. Josh Kohut and his team will be working to collect data on the abiotic factors located at the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot.
Dr. Matthew Oliver
Biological Oceanographer
Matt’s interest in marine science started as a kid fishing on the piers of Southern California. He decided to focus on biological sciences after an excellent experience in Mr. Feddes’ 10th grade Biology class at Valley Christian High School. Matt could not afford attendance at a four-year university, so he enrolled at Cerritos College to study Natural Science. To pay for college, he played football, and eventually earned a scholarship to complete his Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Systematic Biology at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. (Some things can only be learned while bleeding on an athletic field.) Matt continued at Cal Poly in a Biology Master’s program, and started his Ph.D. studies in Oceanography at Rutgers University in 2001. In January 2008, he started as a faculty member in the Oceanography program at the University of Delaware. His research interests include marine biogeography and ecology, climate change, ocean optics, remote sensing, species distribution models and ocean observing.
SWARM Project Details:
Dr. Matthew Oliver and his team will be working to collect data on the biotic factors located at the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot.
Dr. Mike Dinniman
Senior Research Scientist
After spending several years writing software for flight simulators, Mr. Dinniman went back to school where he received a M.S. in Meteorology from the University of Maryland, College Park where he first learned about ocean modeling. He then worked for two years at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center before coming to CCPO in 1999. Mr. Dinniman's research interests involve numerical modeling of ocean and ice physical processes in oceanic and coastal regions and modeling of coupling between physical and biological processes in marine environments.
SWARM Project Details:
Dr. Mike Dinniman and his team put together mathematical and computer models of the abiotic data collected at the Palmer Deep Biological Hotspot. All of the models we use on this site were created by him and his team!
