Phil Wallhead, 2008-2009 Posdoctoral Scholar

Phil Wallhead graduated from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK, where he studied new methods in plankton ecosystem modelling. Plankton play an essential role in removing carbon from the atmosphere (via photosynthesis) and locking it in ocean sediment (the 'biological pump'), and as the base of the marine food web supporting fish populations and other harvestable resources.   At Southampton, Phil investigated alternative ways to formulate and calibrate and plankton models that account for limitations on our ability to predict spatial variability in the ocean. At WHOI, Phil works with Dr. Dennis McGillicuddy in the Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering Department, investigating the causes on interannual variation in phytoplankton blooms on Georges Bank, and the structure on the planktonic food web, using model-data assimilation.