Summary
Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are trace gases that play a key role in the Earth radiation budget and in the stress response of various marine organisms. Coral reefs are tropical coastal ecosystems that are considered hotspots of BVOC emissions, with the relative abundance of coral reefs’ BVOCs being expected to vary under environmental stress. As such, measuring coral-reef BVOC emissions under various environmental factors is important for understanding the impact of future climate on BVOC emissions and projecting the feedback of future BVOC emissions on local climate. This talk is a summary of the research on BVOC emissions in coral reef ecosystems that has been conducted over the past two years as part of the cooling and shading subprogram of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.
Brief biography
Elisabeth (Liz) Deschaseaux is a visiting Research Fellow working on emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in coral reef ecosystems. She did her Bachelor in Cellular Biology and Physiology in France at the University of Bordeaux 2, her Honours in Marine Science at the University of Canberra and her PhD in coastal biogeochemistry at Southern Cross University, in Lismore, Australia. She then did a few short-term post-docs at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and back at Southern Cross University. For the past 2.5 years, she conducted research as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, which is the largest incentive to help the Great Barrier Reef survive climate change. Liz will start working at the ICM with Rafel Simó in September this year with the aim to fill some research gaps on oceanic sulfur emissions and the cycling of methylated sulfur compounds in marine ecosystems.