Documentation

Documents explaining the Meeting Background and Process. New Content 10 Sep 2016

Symposium Proposals

Kurzfassung (Oct 2015)

After more than a century of modern marine research with rapid technological development and discoveries of many phenomena, a separation between the earth and life sciences exists. And despite enormous efforts direct observations of seafloor are widely spaced – over the whole oceans at about 7km. Although the data are positioned, are integrated and available, conditions at the seafloor have to be estimated over the gaps, mostly using mathematical models. These methods for the physical state of the seabed perform fairly reliably, but still in many cases deviate or fail because organisms have colonized the substrate. The general characters of such fauna and flora are known but effects from their presence and activities are mostly unaccounted for in understandings of the physics of the seafloor. The difficulties include: different data types between biology and the geological side, how population numbers vary in time, and the great species diversity. In particular the need to convert word-based biologic data to numeric physical data is a problem. The proposed symposium will bring together many of the best experts from the earth and life sciences, from the academic environment and from NATO which also needs to understand the seafloor closely. This makes sense for two reasons. First it brings together “best minds” of the two fields to form a mutual and better understanding of seafloor bio-geo processes, Second data across the two fields of study can be combined. We expect that estimates at locations, and predictions in time of seafloor physical processes will be revised, thereby transforming ecological issues. The symposium seeks to deliver innovative approaches for a new full-system understanding. All participants in the lead-up, including a substantial number of young researchers, are calling for a modern view of the seabed as one bio-geo system to aid sustainable use of these areas.