My name is Hélène Thibault, and I have recently started a three-year postdoctoral position within the DRIFT project (Systematically Rethinking Advection and Cross-Ecosystem Subsidies), led by Tom Langbehn in the Theoretical Ecology Group. My research interests lie in combining modelling approaches with survey data analysis to better understand the role of micronekton in marine ecosystems.
I obtained my PhD in Oceanography from the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) in Marseille, France. During my thesis research, conducted as part of the APERO project, I investigated the influence of diel vertical migrations of micronekton on carbon export in the Northeast Atlantic.
Within the DRIFT project, my work will focus on the analysis of field data and its integration with ongoing modelling efforts. I planned to analyze a long-term acoustic time series collected from an array of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings deployed around the Faroese shelf, together with fisheries survey data. In addition, a research cruise is planned across the shelf break and ocean ridge of the Faroe Plateau, which will allow us to compare slope communities upstream and downstream of the shelf. These observations will contribute to the development of mechanistic simulation models describing adaptive predator–prey behavior in shelf ecosystems.
I am new to Bergen and excited to explore Norway’s beautiful landscapes and to meet new people!