Simone Francis

Associate Specialist

My background and general interests are in the coupling of physical and biological processes in the ocean. My current work here in the Passow lab is focused on the formation of phytoplankton aggregates in the presence of oil. We know that a significant amount of the oil spilled after the Deepwater Horizon explosion ended up on the seafloor, but the mechanisms responsible for that sedimentation are poorly understood. I am using a mathematical model based on coagulation theory to simulate the formation and sinking of phytoplankton aggregates during and after the spill. The model with eventually be modified to include the incorporation of spilled oil into the aggregates in order to understand how important such phytoplankton-oil aggregates might be in transporting oil to the seafloor.
 

Email: 

Phone: 

805 893 2363

Mailing Address: 

UCSB Marine Science Institute Bldg 520 Rm 4002 Fl 4L Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6150 United States