Network building on oceanic meso-scale eddies and marine ecosystems.

This project involved preparation, participation and follow-up of convener responsibilities for a session at the American Geophysical Union Ocean Science Meeting 2014, as a means of developing our network within the field of oceanic meso-scale eddies and their influence and interaction with the marine ecosystem. Meso-scale oceanic eddies are circular flow patterns present in large parts of the world oceans. In Norwegian waters the wide shelf area between the coastal current and the Atlantic inflow off the shelf is dominated by eddies, both transient eddies and stationary eddies locked to the bottom topography. The eddies influence the ocean and the accompanying biological habitat significantly, and effects on for example the transport of fish eggs and larvae, phytoplankton blooms, nutrient transport, dispersion of pollutants and plankton, as well as response in fish have been documented.