Oceanic, atmospheric, and ecosystem characteristics and processes exist over a range of spatial and temporal scales. For example, tides can impart a diurnal or semidiurnal variability in environmental variables, such as temperature and salinity, that surround organisms with low mobility and long life-spans. Conversely, long-lived organisms or ecosystems may be able to react rapidly to buffer surrounding changes.
The combination of long-term monitoring with high-resolution, in-situ measurements opens the door to many novel investigations of scale and distribution. An understanding of how scales are linked and of how biological communities respond to environmental (anthropogenic and natural) change will improve climate change predictions.
We invite presentations that explore the interplay between physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring at different temporal and spatial scales (milliseconds to decades; micrometers to kilometers). These could include, but are not limited to: studies of natural and anthropogenic variability; coastal, open ocean and atmospheric processes; and pelagic, benthic, subtidal and intertidal ecosystems.
