CIMT: Within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, we are part of a multi-institution program (the Center for Integrated Marine Technology) which aims to understand the linkages from wind to whales. We are involved in the shipboard and remote sensing components of this project. The CIMT website has many more details.

ECOHAB: Within the Monterey Bay region, there are several funded groups working closely together on the Pseudo-nitzschia/domoic acid complex. We are funded to develop in the field and laboratory an understanding of how Si, N, C, and light interact physiologically to trigger DA production, and to develop molecular markers for toxin production. Colleagues at MBARI (C. Scholin), UCSC (D. Garrison, M. Silver, J. Goldman, E. Rue), U. Maine (M. Wells), and MLML (G.J. Smith) are working on related aspects, ranging from the role of metal availability, including iron, to the transfer of toxin through the marine food web.

Cal-PReEMPT: In collaboration with Dr. Gregg Langlois at the California Department of Health Services, we are developing better monitoring tools for Harmful Algal Blooms occurring in the state of California, with funding from the NOAA MERHAB program. This is a multi-year effort involving Peter Miller (lead PI) and Mary Silver at UCSC, as well as Rick Stumpf (NOAA) and collaborators in Oregon and Washington states. See the Cal-PreEMPT webpage for details.

NASA projects: A physiological model of nitrogen utilization by natural phytoplankton assemblages which can predict new production in coastal waters using remotely sensed data (AVHRR and ocean color data) or moorings was developed as part of NASA grant NAG5-6563. As part of the EPA funded Coastal Intensive Sites Network (CISNet; NASA grant NAG5-7632), we also developed regional algorithms (pigments, CDOM, sediments, new production) along a gradient of water conditions, from the blue-water stations occupied off central California to the turbid waters of San Pablo Bay. These methods are currently being applied to ongoing projects, including CoOP and CIMT.

CoOP: As part of an NSF-sponsored Coastal Ocean Projects program, we were part of a 5-year study of coastal productivity (The Role of Wind Driven Transport in Shelf Productivity). This program has 3 field years, with a combination of instrumented moorings and cruises, followed by two years of data assimilation and development of a coupled physical-biological model. We are responsible for the bio-optical component and shipboard process studies, and is developing regional algorithms for new and primary production. More information is available here.

As part of the CoOP program River Influences on Shelf Ecosystems (RISE), we are currently evaluating the role of the Columbia River Plume in modulating coastal productivity. This program is also 5 years, with 4 field seasons and an integrated modeling component. More information is available here.

Kudela, R., G. Pitcher, T. Probyn, F. Figueiras, T. Moita, and V. Trainer. 2005. Harmful Algal Blooms in coastal upwelling systems. Oceanography, 18(2): 184-197. [PDF]

Ryan, J.P., H.M. Dierssen, R.M. Kudela, C.A. Scholin, K.S. Johnson, F.P. Chavez, A.M. Fischer, E.V. Rienecker, P. McEnaney, R. Marin, and J.M. Sullivan. Coastal ocean physics and red tides. Oceanography, 18(2): 214-223. [PDF]

Croll, D.A., and R. Kudela. Ecosystem impact of the decline of large whales in the North Pacific.  In: J.Estes, R. Brownell, D. Doak, and T. Williams (Eds.).  Whales, Whaling, and Ocean Ecosystems.  UC Press (submitted 3-15-04).

Kudela, R.M. and F.P. Chavez. 2004. The impact of coastal runoff on ocean color during an El Niño year in central California. Deep-Sea Research II, in press. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2004.04.002. [PDF]

Coale KH, Johnson KS, Chavez FP, Buesseler KO, Barber RT, Brzezinski MA, Cochlan WP, Millero FJ, Falkowski PG, Bauer JE, Wanninkof RH, Kudela RM, Altabet MA, Hales BE, Takahashi T, Landry MR, Bidigare RR, Wang X, Chase Z, Strutton PG, Friederich GE, Gorbunov MY, Lance VP, Hilting AK, Hiscock MR, Demarest M, Hiscock WT, Sullivan KF, Tanner SJ, Gordon RM, Hunter CN, Elrod VA, Fitzwater SE, Jones JL, Tozzi S, Koblizek M, Roberts AE, Herndon J, Brewster J, Ladizinsky N, Smith G, Cooper D, Sheridan CC, Twining BS, Johnson ZI. 2004. Southern Ocean Iron Enrichment Experiment: Carbon cycling in high- and low-Si waters. Science 304:408-414. [PDF]

Kudela, R, W. Cochlan, and A. Roberts. 2003. Spatial and temporal patterns of Pseudo-nitzschia spp. in central California related regional oceanography. In: Steidinger, K.A., J.H. Landsberg, C.R. Tomas, and G.A. Vargo (Eds.) Harmful Algae 2002. Florida and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Institute of Oceanography, and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. In press. [PDF]

Kudela, R., A. Roberts, and M. Armstrong. 2003. Laboratory analyses of nutrient stress and toxin production in Pseudo-nitzschia spp. from Monterey Bay, California. In: Steidinger, K.A., J.H. Landsberg, C.R. Tomas, and G.A. Vargo (Eds.) Harmful Algae 2002. Florida and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Institute of Oceanography, and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. In press.[PDF]

Berelson, W., J. McManus, K. Coale, K. Johnson, D. Burdige, T. Kilgore, D. Colodner F. Chavez, R. Kudela, J. Boucher. 2003. A time series of benthic flux measurements from Monterey Bay, CA. Continental Shelf Research, 23: 457-481.[PDF]

Kudela, R.M. and F.P. Chavez. 2002. Multi-platform remote sensing of new production in central California during the 1997-1998 El Niño. Progress in Oceanography 54: 233-249. [PDF]

Kudela, R.M. and W.P. Cochlan. 2000. Nitrogen and Carbon Uptake Kinetics and the Influence of Irradiance for a Red Tide Bloom Off  Southern California. Aquat. Microb. Ecol. 21: 31-47. [PDF] large (3.9 MB) file.

Kudela, R.M. and F.P. Chavez. 2000. Modeling the impact of the 1992 El Niño on new production in Monterey Bay, California. Deep-Sea Res. II 47: 1055-1076. [PDF]

Kudela, R.M. and R.C. Dugdale. 2000. Nutrient regulation of phytoplankton productivity in Monterey Bay, California. Deep-Sea Res. II 47: 1023-1053. [PDF]

Wilkerson, F.P. R.C. Dugdale, F.P. Chavez, and R.M. Kudela. 2000. Biomass and productivity in Monterey Bay, CA: contribution of the larger autotrophs. Deep-Sea Res. II 47:1003-1022.[PDF]

Kudela, R.M., W.P. Cochlan and R.C. Dugdale.  1997.  Carbon and nitrogen uptake response to light by phytoplankton during an upwelling event.  J. Plankton Res. 19: 609-630.

Kudela, R.M. and F.P. Chavez.  1996.  Bio-optical properties in relation to an algal bloom caused by iron enrichment in the equatorial Pacific.  Geophys. Res. Letters, 23: 3751-3754.

Coale, K.H., K.S. Johnson, S.E. Fitzwater, R.M. Gordon, S. Tanner, F.P. Chavez, L. Ferioli, C. Sakamoto, P. Rogers, F. Millero, P. Steinberg, P. Nightingale, D. Cooper, W. Cochlan, M.R. Landry, J. Constantinou, G. Rollwagen, A. Trasvina and R. Kudela.  1996.  A massive phytoplankton bloom induced by an ecosystem-scale iron fertilization experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.  Nature 383: 495-501.