Laura Bianucci
Research Associate
Department of Oceanography
Dalhousie University
1355 Oxford Street
PO BOX 15000
Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2
Room 2618 LSC
Phone +1 (902) 494 3655
Fax +1 (902) 494 3877
E-mail: laura.bianucci [AT] dal.ca
Education
Ph.D. -- Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Canada
Licenciatura -- Physical Oceanography, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Research Interests
I am a marine biogeochemical modeller with a background in physical oceanography, interested in studying the ocean as an interdisciplinary environment. I work with coupled physical and ecosystem numerical models to tackle questions about the cycling of elements (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen) in the ocean and to understand the response of the ocean and its ecosystems to climate change. For instance, my past research investigated the sensitivity of carbon (DIC, pCO_2) and oxygen to a potential increase in upwelling winds and a declining Oxygen Minimum Zone in the west coast of Canada (Vancouver Island shelf); some of my ongoing research aims to address the effect of melting Greenland ice in the circulation and biogeochemistry of the continental shelf of Atlantic Canada. I am especially interested in the issues of coastal hypoxia and acidification, how these phenomena are coupled, and what are the processes that make a region vulnerable (or not) to hypoxia and/or corrosivity.
Currently, I am involved in the Ocean Tracking Network. I am setting up a model to incorporate brand new observations coming from this project to try to better understand the migration patterns of different species and how they may change in the future. I will also use this model to study the biogeochemical cycles of the Canadian Atlantic shelf and the vulnerability to hypoxia and acidification.