Spring Break
Professor uses computer models of kelp forests to map effects of global climate change
Ryan Fernandez
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News
Students will no longer have to wonder what kelp forests looked like 14,000 years ago.
Michael Graham, a SJSU associate professor of marine ecology working at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, published a study on ancient kelp forests in the Oct. 22 issue of the scientific journal "Nature."
"This is the first ever study of ancient kelp forests done in the world," Graham said. "No one else can tell you what kelp forests looked like 14,000 years ago."
Graham said the five-year study, published in collaboration with UC Santa Barbara researcher Brian Kinlan and UC Davis Professor Richard Grosberg, looked at changes in the overall distribution and biomass of kelp forests in the waters off the Southern California coast.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines biomass as the amount of living matter in a unit area or volume of habitat.
Graham said kelp is a large, fast-growing type of algae that grows in cold, nutrient-rich waters at depths of less than 25 meters.
He said the study focused on Southern California, because the area contained "one of the largest, most productive kelp forests in the world."
Graham said a computer model was used to predict the distribution and productivity of Southern California kelp forests dating back to a time period called the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets covered the planet's northern and southern regions.
"We were making maps of how big the kelp forest should have been over the last 18,000 years," he said.
Graham said the study covered an area of Southern California from San Diego to Point Conception, west of Santa Barbara. He and his colleagues looked at about 1,500 square kilometers of Southern California's coastal areas, including offshore islands.
Graham said the model compared information about the growing conditions of kelp with oceanic data compiled from archives of other scientific studies, ship logs and old newspapers.
When the study concluded, Graham said he and his colleagues found the total biomass and distribution of Southern California's kelp forests reached a peak about 14,000 years ago, and were about three times the size of modern kelp forests.
Michael Graham, a SJSU associate professor of marine ecology working at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, published a study on ancient kelp forests in the Oct. 22 issue of the scientific journal "Nature."
"This is the first ever study of ancient kelp forests done in the world," Graham said. "No one else can tell you what kelp forests looked like 14,000 years ago."
Graham said the five-year study, published in collaboration with UC Santa Barbara researcher Brian Kinlan and UC Davis Professor Richard Grosberg, looked at changes in the overall distribution and biomass of kelp forests in the waters off the Southern California coast.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines biomass as the amount of living matter in a unit area or volume of habitat.
Graham said kelp is a large, fast-growing type of algae that grows in cold, nutrient-rich waters at depths of less than 25 meters.
He said the study focused on Southern California, because the area contained "one of the largest, most productive kelp forests in the world."
Graham said a computer model was used to predict the distribution and productivity of Southern California kelp forests dating back to a time period called the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets covered the planet's northern and southern regions.
"We were making maps of how big the kelp forest should have been over the last 18,000 years," he said.
Graham said the study covered an area of Southern California from San Diego to Point Conception, west of Santa Barbara. He and his colleagues looked at about 1,500 square kilometers of Southern California's coastal areas, including offshore islands.
Graham said the model compared information about the growing conditions of kelp with oceanic data compiled from archives of other scientific studies, ship logs and old newspapers.
When the study concluded, Graham said he and his colleagues found the total biomass and distribution of Southern California's kelp forests reached a peak about 14,000 years ago, and were about three times the size of modern kelp forests.
Be the first to comment on this story