My research in the field of biological oceanography deals with primary production in the ocean. Specifically, carbon fixation that is not mitigated through photosynthesis by photoautotrophs, but by alternative metabolic processes by chemoautotrophs. My study sites concentrate on low nutrient low chlorophyll areas such as the East Mediterranean and the North Red Sea. My overall goal is to highlight the importance of a full water column carbon fixation monitoring on a global scale in light of our current need to evaluate the marine carbon system in the changing oceans.
Research Title: Cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies as habitats for zooplankton in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea.
Ocean eddies affect climate by transporting and mixing heat, carbon, and nutrients. Cyclonic eddies in the Northern Hemisphere have a counterclockwise rotation with a slow vertical upwelling flow, while anticyclonic eddies rotate clockwise with a vertical downwelling flow. Eddies in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea have lifetimes that affect plankton communities and allow for detection of changes in composition. My research will characterize the variability, physicochemical attributes, and biology of eddies using a multidisciplinary approach, including satellite data, research vessels, autonomous gliders, and camera-based vision profiler, to better understand their ecological impact and how they can potentially support sensitive species or facilitate the arrival of alien species.
Tal has started her Ph.D. with Professor Mike Krom, Professor Dani Tchernov, and Professor Ilana Berman-Frank as part of the Marine Chemistry Laboratory at the Moris Kahn Marine Research Station. During her masters, she created the first high-resolution and high-sensitivity nutrient dataset from the Israeli shelf and off-shore water, that showed the seasonality of nutrient concentrations in the EMS. Tal has developed a new APA and chlorophyll bioassay that will allow the assessment of autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrient limitations. In her Ph.D. work, Tal aims to assess the nutrient limitation of different phytoplankton taxa during different seasons and develop new methods to evaluate the community composition and activity in regards to their chemical environment. This will allow quantification of the autotrophic activity of the system and the effect of the changing climate and pollution on these crucial populations.
Dr. Or M. Bialik is a multi-disciplinary Earth scientist studying oceanic and climatic changes in Earth鈥檚 present and geological past. Their work integrates sedimentology, geochemistry and paleoceanography to reconstruct the most complete picture of environmental change over time.
My project is about Coast-to-Open Sea connectivity, with an emphasis on how physical phenomena affect biological and ecological processes. Currently we are investigating how seasonality of sub-mesoscale features affects the spatio-temporal phenology of phytoplanktonic blooms.
At present, although technically retired, I still work full time leading the Biogeochemical group at the Sdot yam Marine station. Our latest work is using measurements of dissolved inorganic nutrients, Nitrate and Phosphate, in the waters off the Israeli coast to understand and quantify the effects of environmental and climate change. Our latest research is showing that global climate change is making the natural 鈥榝east and famine鈥� of the offshore waters more extreme. Such research is crucial if we are to make scientific based decisions of exploiting the new Israeli frontier.
The ocean occupies 70% of the earth, and influences almost every aspect of our life. Nevertheless, it is a complex environment that it is hard to explore and thus still little is known about it.鈥� The lab is intrigued by both the challenges in ocean research as well as the discoveries that lay behind solving these challenges. The lab's goal is to develop novel optical imaging systems and computer vision methods to explore the ocean and its inhabitants.
My research interests include studies on chemistry of atmospheric aerosols, marine pollution and marine biogeochemistry. I worked on several bio-geo-chemical studies in the Mediterranean Sea, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, conducting several international (e.g. European, bi-lateral etc.) and national (e.g. Israel Science Foundation etc.) research projects. I鈥檓 involved in several environmental studies and coordinated the Israel's National Monitoring Program in the Mediterranean Sea during 30 years (until 2023).
In my scientific work I investigate marine systems at the interface between scientific disciplines, primarily through collection, analysis and interpretation of remote-sensing data from airplane, satellites and drones. Currently, my main research directions are promotion data-based oceanic research through automatization the process of ocean data integration, thus facilitating the exploration of the large, and growing, body of data collected over the years; development and implementation of Lagrangian methods for analysis and interpretation satellite imagery; and harnessing drone technology to support marine research.
Prof. Yizhaq Makovsky is a faculty with a shared position at the Maurice Hatter Department of Marine Technologies (currently residing as the Department鈥檚 chair) and the Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences, and the Head of the Applied Marine Exploration Lab., University of Haifa. He is a marine geoscientist specializing in seafloor active processes, environment and geohazards; the technologies required for such studies; and the full scope of offshore exploration and development geophysics, including 3D imaging and reservoir characterization. His work combines basic and applied scientific research, commercial projects and public activity for knowledge-based sustainable marine development. Prof. Makovsky graduated his BSC (1990) at the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, and his PHD (1997) at the Department of Geophysics, Stanford University, CA, USA. From 1998 to 2007 Dr. Makovsky worked as a senior consulting geophysicist with Paradigm (now part of Aspentech, one of the leading software companies in the global energy industry), serving worldwide as an on-site global technology transfer, service and support expert in geophysical imaging and reservoir analysis. In 2007 Prof. Makovsky joined Prof. Zvi Ben Avraham in establishing the Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa, and became the establishing head of the Department of Marine Geosciences (through 2010). Prof. Makovsky is the University of Haifa representative in the managing committee of the national Israel Mediterranean Sea Research Center (MERCI) consortium. In the recent decade, Prof. Makovsky has been pioneering and leading broad-scope multidisciplinary research of the Mediterranean deep seafloor, including innovative AUV and ROV surveying. Beyond basic science, he has been working with many of the Israel offshore stakeholders, from some of the main infrastructure development projects through environmental and conservation initiatives. Particularly, some of this work led to the declaration of Israel鈥檚 biggest marine protected area and the first in the country鈥檚 exclusive economic zone beyond its territorial boundaries.
My role as PhD candidate encompasses leading-edge seismic technologies to investigate the mechanism and quantification of seafloor gas leakage. With over 12 years of dedicated experience and leadership at different seismic research departments, I've honed a deep-seated expertise in seismic interpretation and processing.
Mastery of Seismic Processing and Seismic Interpretation, along with a robust grounding in machine learning and AI, enables me to push the boundaries of routine geophysical technique and bring something new. I am particularly interested in innovative and advanced interpretation methods for geophysical detection (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), synthetic aperture sonar (SAS), Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP), 3D&2D Seismic data.
Specifically, the main aims of research encompass quantification of gas leakage to investigate the origins and sources of the gases, explore reservoir interconnections in the Levant Basin, and understand their environmental and climate impacts.
In my work, I am assessing the viability percentage of airborne microbes when they deposit upon sea water. This research aims to understand the survival rates of these microorganisms in their deposition upon sea water and to identify the various factors that influence their viability. The study involves analyzing both temporal and spatial aspects, considering how different nutrient levels, seasons, and environmental conditions such as humidity and air trajectories affect microbial survival.the spatial aspect of the research examines how different locations across the East Mediterranean sea impact the viability of airborne microbes. The goal is to develop a detailed understanding of the environmental and temporal factors that contribute to the persistence or decline of microbial populations in their deposition upon sea water.
In my research I'm implementing hydro acoustical methods to investigate gas plumes, seeping from the seafloor.
Gas bubbles have high acoustic impedance in the water. This property makes the bubbles easily detectible by hydro acoustic equipment such as Multibeam Echosounder (MBES), Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS), and sub-bottom profiler, in the water column.
By using data collected by an AUV-borne MBES and SAS, and a ship-borne MBES I'm investigating the Palmahim Disturbance offshore Israel, and the Napoli Mud Volcano (NMV) offshore Crete for active gas seepages.
I am interested in understanding how sedimentary and oceanographic processes shape the seafloor geomorphology and how these processes are affected by climate change. My research approach combines the fields of marine geophysics, marine sedimentology and physical oceanography. Currently, I am using hydroacoustic imaging techniques (utilizing multibeam echosounder, sub-bottom profiler, seismic reflection and ADCP data) to characterize internal waves and eddies in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Professor Dan Tchernov serves as the Head of The Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences. Dan began his faculty-level career as the director of the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences (IUI-Eilat, Asst. Professor at Hebrew University, 2004-2009). During this period, he turned a relatively stagnant marine station into an active and up-and-coming facility including orchestrating the construction and delivery of the first research vessel placed in the Red Sea by Israel as well as Israel鈥檚 first technical scientific diving center. From there, he founded the Marine Biology Department at the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences University of Haifa (2009 -2017) and founded the M. Kahn Marine Research Station (opened 2016). Professor Tchernov is currently the scientific director of the M. Kahn Marine Research Station that executes marine operations such as routine deep CCR tri-mix exploration and support dives, shark and large fish tagging, ROV operations in the eastern Mediterranean and other underwater observatory servicing.
Research Areas: Climate change biology, marine photosynthesis, molecular mechanisms in corals, deep and mesophotic reefs, fluorescent and luminescent proteins.
Co-leading the EMSFORE project and team from the University of Haifa, Professor Ilana Berman-Frank is currently the Director of the Mediterranean Sea Research Center of Israel, past Director of the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, and a Professor at the Department of Marine Biology at the University of Haifa鈥檚 Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences since 2018. Research at the Berman-Frank Aquatic Ecology and Biological Oceanography Laboratory is dedicated to the impact of aquatic ecosystems on the environment and society, ranging from the local to the global scales, from Lake Kinneret (U to the Mediterranean and Red Seas, to the South Pacific Ocean. Research is focused on how global changes and environmental stressors influence the organisms forming the base of the aquatic food-webs 鈥� the bacteria and photosynthetic organisms. Additional research examines local aspects such as the impacts of discharges from the rapidly expanding desalination industries on coastal populations. Prof. Berman-Frank has extensive experience in national and international capacities promoting marine sciences including serving as President of the Israeli Association of Aquatic Sciences; Co-Chair of the International Group of Aquatic Primary Productivity (GAP); Board Member of the International Association of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) and for "EcoOcean" an environmental NGO promoting marine research and education.
In the ultra-oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean Sea, my projects focus on determining the relative potential availability of urea and its in-situ uptake rates compared with ammonium and nitrate. Additionally, I examine changes in the microbial community and physiological responses during nitrogen and phosphate incubation experiments, across contrasting seasons of nitrate repletion and depletion, and along the M197 transect from east to west.
Assessment of the functioning of the biological carbon pump and particle export in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, by analyzing sinking material fluxes using sediment traps and the 234thorium- 238uranium disequilibrium technique.
I am a Senior Scientist at 黑料视频 interested in the controls on phytoplankton abundance, ecology and physiology in the ocean. We use a highly multidisciplinary combination of fieldwork (mostly open ocean research cruises), phytoplankton culturing experiments, diverse analytical techniques, numerical analysis and simple modelling. This is supplemented by a combination of satellite remote sensing and analysis of climate model output. I have recently started a junior research group funded by an ERC grant.
I am interested in the CaCO3 cycle in the ocean, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. By analyzing particulate inorganic carbon and its isotopes, dissolved calcium (Ca) and strontium (Sr), and combined with water chemistry to quantify CaCO3 sources and sinks and the biogeochemical processes that govern the distribution of CaCO3 in these regions.
I am interested in gelatinous communities of the midwater (mesopelagic zone) and their role in carbon fluxes, including the biological carbon pump. To quantify their diversity, biomass and distribution, I am using in situ cameras and traditional zooplankton nets. Cameras are excellent for quantifying diversities and distributions of fragile fauna such as most gelatinous organisms, while nets are good to quantify the diversities, distributions, and biomass of sturdy zooplankton. Stereovision or using lasers with cameras allow to measure fragile fauna in situ and with the help of allometric equations, I can estimate their biomass. Furthermore, I am also interested in the fate of dead gelatinous organisms. I am using baited traps to capture scavengers for diet studies to infer food fall diversities. Baited camera landers can identify the succession and diversity of gelatinous food fall scavengers and their consumption rate. Combining all these data will give us a good understanding of the gelatinous community composition in the mesopelagic and their role as an energy source for scavengers.
At 黑料视频 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Dr. Henk-Jan Hoving leads a working group that investigates the biology and biodiversity of deep-sea organisms, their interactions and their role in oceanic foodwebs and the biological carbon pump. Organisms of particular interest include cephalopods (squids and octopuses) and gelatinous macro zooplankton (e.g. medusae, siphonophores and ctenophores). These organisms are responsive to climate change and abundant prey and predators in the deep sea. Hoving and his team apply camera systems and submersibles to study deep-sea organisms in their natural habitat (in situ) as well as environmental DNA analysis and net sampling to study biodiversity and distribution patterns also in relation to environmental gradients which are changing as a result of climate change.
I am a PhD candidate in the Biogeochemical Modeling group of 黑料视频 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. I鈥檓 currently developing an Optimality and trait-based Biogeochemical model for the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, which would bring new insights into this marine ecosystem and allow us to simulate future climate scenarios at different scales. I find this project challenging since the EMS is an ultraoligotrophic environment, where the biodiversity of primary producers and nitrogen fixers play an important role in the biogeochemical cycles of this ecosystem.
My research focuses on the biogeochemistry of nutrients and trace elements in the EMS (including macronutrients, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved, colloidal and particulate trace metals as well as mercury species). I aim to better understand the sources, fluxes and sinks, the role of mesoscale features, winter mixing, deep-water formation, and biological and geological processes on the basin wide distribution and cycles of nutrients and trace elements in the context of fast climate change.
My work focusses on optimality-based and trait-based (adaptive) modelling of plankton organisms and ecosystems on different scales, ranging from lab experiments to Earth system models. I am interested in interactions between biotic plankton processes and biogeochemical cycles and I attempt to advance modelling of evolution and maintenance of biodiversity in plankton ecosystems.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at 黑料视频, interested in sensor development and the marine carbonate system. We develop carbonate sensors in the lab and deploy them, along with other commercial sensors, on open ocean research cruises, moorings, and gliders to acquire high temporal and spatial resolution data. The main objective of my research is to gain insight into the carbonate system of the Mediterranean Sea, to reveal its complexities, and to explore the various factors that influence its dynamics. By examining carbonate chemistry, we seek to elucidate the responses of the Mediterranean Sea to environmental changes.
Hi everyone! I'm Rachele and I work as a marine biologist within the EMS-FORE project. I will mainly focus on exploring the microplankton communities inhabiting the oligotrophic waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. Imaging techniques will allow me to take a look at zooplanktonic organisms, in order to accurately describe their distributions and estimate the related carbon fluxes. On the other hand, I will also dedicate time to molecular lab work to dive into the phytoplanktonic world. Hopefully, this whole research will give us a better understanding on the complex dynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean and maybe help us predict future climate change scenarios.
My research uses water chemistry to quantify biogeochemical processes in the ocean. I am specifically interested in the biological carbon pump, and have focused much of my work on development of ways to expand our ability to quantify skeleton production and dissolution in the ocean. Another focus area of my work is the interactions between the ocean and its boundaries. As part of EMS-FORE, I am studying how diagenetic reactions taking place near the sediment - bottom-water interface control element fluxes to the bottom-water and modify records of water-column conditions in marine sediments.
Research interests: Biological Oceanography, microbial ecology, phytoplankton, primary&bacterial production and bioaerosols.
Research
I am a biological oceanographer working at the Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research Institute (Haifa, Israel) since 2013 and an adjunct professor in Ben-Gurion University since 2024. My group's main research interests lie in the fields of Biological Oceanography, Atmospheric-Marine Processes and Microbial Ecology. Our study involves the use of different physiological approaches, stable and radioisotopes, flow-cytometry, pigment analyses, and aerosol collectors in diverse environmental samples such as seawater, estuaries, sediments and aerosols. I am also engaged in developing science youth education programs for toddlers, mid/high school students and the general public.
Lab website:
Head of the Marine Biology Department and the Zooplankton Ecology Lab at the Israeli Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR).
Zooplankton comprise a vast diversity of species, spanning a wide range of sizes and forms, and are found from shallow coastal areas to the deep sea. They play crucial roles in energy and nutrient transfer from primary producers to higher trophic levels and in driving the biological carbon pump. The Guy-Haim Lab focuses on studying and monitoring zooplankton communities using classical taxonomy, innovative optical methods, field observations, and experimental approaches to understand their ecological functions.
Head of the Oceanography program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A geochemist whose research focuses on the signal transfer between the modern atmosphere and oceans to the geological record, the impact of abrupt events on primary and export production in the oceans, trace element biogeochemical cycles, and reconstruction of Quaternary paleoclimate from lacustrine and marine archives.
