Project Details
Projekt
MARVELS: ‘Mapping’ the Deep - Modelling fine-scale physical drivers of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem distribution in diverse deep-sea Landscapes.
Applicant
Dr. Christian Mohn
Subject Area
Oceanography
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 578452487
Seamounts and cold-water coral mounds are widespread deep-sea features that provide habitats for unique benthic communities and locally enhance organic matter flux through interactions with ocean currents. These interactions generate fine-scale hydrodynamic phenomena, such as internal waves and turbulent mixing, that increase vertical transport of organic matter, enhancing food availability to benthic filter and suspension feeder communities (cold-water corals and sponges) in otherwise food-limited environments. Understanding how these physical processes structure benthic communities is critical for predicting the distribution of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME). This project examines four Atlantic case study areas characterized by contrasting environmental settings, ranging from isolated seamounts influenced primarily by large-scale ocean currents to complex coral mound provinces shaped by strong tidal forcing and internal tide activity. The project applies high-resolution hydrodynamic models that integrate detailed seafloor topography with basin-scale and tidal forcing to resolve near-bottom currents and fine-scale physical drivers of food delivery to filter- and suspension-feeding fauna. These models allow to capture both the inherent hydrodynamics and episodic processes that may temporarily dominate local food transport. The project will test key physical oceanographic indicators - such as internal tide dynamics, kinetic energy dissipation, and local turbulent mixing - as robust proxies for food supply to benthic communities. These proxies will be incorporated into VME species distribution models to test their capacity for improving predictions of the distribution of deep-sea benthic communities, particularly filter and suspension feeders. By explicitly focusing on fine-scale variability in physical processes, our approach provides new insights into the environmental framework conditions that support vulnerable deep-sea taxa. Overall, this project advances understanding of the bio-physical coupling that sustains deep-sea biodiversity and establishes a foundation for predictive modeling of VME distribution under changing ocean conditions. By focusing on multiple case study areas with contrasting environmental drivers, we will identify generalizable patterns and site-specific dynamics, ultimately informing conservation strategies and management of deep-sea ecosystems across diverse Atlantic deep-sea landscapes.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
International Connection
Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom
