Mapping Ocean Ecosystems with NASA Technology at PACE Hackweek

November 20, 2024
GSO's Sarah Lang (third row, far right) was one of 41 students who participated in PACE’s first Hackweek at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC. Credit: NASA

Nov. 20, 2024

At NASA’s PACE Hackweek, Sarah Lang, a Ph.D. candidate at GSO, worked on a multi-institutional team to explore how mesoscale eddies—swirling ocean currents spanning 10-100 km—affect phytoplankton ecosystems, which are vital to the overall health of oceanic ecosystems and future climate.

Their project, “GO-SWACE,” combined data from:

  • NASA Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) to map phytoplankton distributions with unprecedented spectral detail
  • NASA Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) to resolve ocean currents 10x finer than previous satellite technology
  • BGC-Argo Floats to uncover vertical ocean structures

With this trio of tools, the team mapped out the evolution of phytoplankton within an eddy that pinched off the Gulf Stream and propagated away. Their analysis revealed shifts in phytoplankton communities, showing how eddies trap and mix water while transporting carbon and nutrients.

Phytoplankton assemblages are estimated using Priscila Lange’s MOANA algorithm. Black lines/arrows correspond to streamlines from SWOT geostrophic velocities (estimated from sea surface height). In the right-most panel, the pro:pico ratio within the eddy was likely shaped by the trapping of Gulf Stream waters (same ratio of ~0 in the center of the eddy as the top left corner).  On the other hand, the pro:syn ratio changes as the eddy propagates away from the Gulf Stream (center panel), indicating a shift in those phytoplankton communities. We were also excited to backtrack the evolution of the eddy since its formation, and to see how SWOT could potentially indicate areas of strong coherent trapping (e.g. on the left side of the eddy) vs. areas where the eddy may be mixing with the surrounding waters (e.g. bottom right of eddy).

GSO alums contribute to PACE

From Dean Paula Bontempi, who was part of early PACE feasibility studies at NASA, to the field scientists validating satellite data, GSO grads have contributed at every step.

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Why does this matter? Phytoplankton are the base of the marine food web and key players in the biological carbon pump, making them essential to understanding ocean health and future climate predictions.

A huge shoutout to the GO-SWACE team: Sarah Lang (URI GSO), Lexi Jones-Kellett (MIT), Marin Cornec (NOAA-PMEL), Md Masud-Ul-Alam (UGA), Tasha Snow (UMD, NASA), and Vivien Puppa Kocsis (Harvard). Sarah reflects, “I learned so much from working with my team members, and it was rewarding to see our ideas and knowledge come together. This was the most rewarding part of the Hackweek for me!!”

The group is excited to continue developing their findings and is already working on a manuscript—stay tuned for updates!