At Plymouth we are instrumental in developing marine ecosystem models that are state-of-the-art in several respects: their application to highly resolved physical models of the marine environment; the inclusion of a wide range of ecosystem components and processes and the application of advanced data assimilation techniques.

One of our principle tools is the ERSEM model. Conceived as a generic model, when coupled to a qualitatively correct physical model, it is designed to be capable of correctly simulating the spatial pattern of ecological fluxes throughout the seasonal cycle and across eutrophic to oligotrophic gradients. There are perhaps three reasons that allow ERSEM this flexibility. Firstly it includes detailed representations of the benthic system, which are vital for the correct treatment of shelf seas. Secondly it decouples carbon and nutrient dynamics which gives a far better approximation to how nutrient limitation acts on cells. Thirdly it can simulate both the "classical" large cell production / grazing dynamics and the small cell microbial loop, thereby representing the continuum of trophic pathways evident in marine systems.