Partnership
HOST
Prof. Aaron Micallef
(Supervisor)
The Marine Geology and Seafloor Surveying research group at the University of Malta (UM) undertakes multidisciplinary studies of seafloor and sub-seafloor environments using advanced and observational techniques to understand the fundamental processes and dynamics of seafloor and sub-seafloor evolution.
Prof. Aaron Micallef is a senior scientist at GEOMAR and associate professor at Department of Geoscience, University of Malta where he leads the Marine Geology and Seafloor Surveying group. He is Senior Geologist investigating the geomorphology of continental margins. He uses quantitative techniques to analyse geophysical and sedimentological data to solve problems related to submarine mass movements, canyons and gullies, fluid flow processes, submerged landscapes and seafloor mapping.
SECONDMENT
The Marine Geology group at the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) conducts mapping and research of the Norwegian coastal and ocean areas in pursuit the national goal of securing access to clean and abundant water, and help to ensure the proper management of marine and geological resources with the aim of providing full access to all information on the ocean floor through their online marine geology database.
Dr. Nicole Baeten (Supervisor at NGU), Dr. Margaret Dolan and Dr. Lilja R. Bjarnadottir are Senior Scientists in the Earth Surface and Seabed Division (Marine Geology Group) at NGU with international recognised expertise on Geomorphology, Marine Geology and Geophysics and habitat mapping of glaciated continental margins.
EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS
The Ocean and Littoral Sedimentary Process research group of the Department of Marine Geosciences at the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC) has an international known expertise in sediment transport processes in slope environments and within submarine canyons, assessing the role of anthropogenic (i.e., trawling) impacts on the contemporary sedimentary dynamics.
Dr. Pere Puig is a CSIC Research Scientist and Head of the Marine Geosciences Department at the ICM. He has an international known expertise in the study of the contemporary sediment transport processes in the marine environment, with a special interest in the role that submarine canyons play as preferential conduits for the export of particles and associated constituents from shallow to deep regions. Lately, the focus of his research has been addressed to understand the role of deep-sea bottom trawling activities in the sediment resuspension and dispersal in continental slope environments.
Dr. Claudio Lo Iacono is a is a Senior Researcher in Marine Geosciences at ICM (CSIC) with a wide experience in acoustic mapping and morphodynamics of the continental shelves, geomorphology and sedimentary processes of submarine canyons and habitat mapping. He is the coordinator of the on-going Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship HABISS, aiming to quantify the multi-scale interactive processes sustaining deep-sea ecosystems.
Dr. Araceli Muñoz
Tragsa for General Secretariat of Fisheries, TRAGSA-SGP, forms part of the group of companies of the State-owned holding company State Industrial Ownership Corporation (SEPI). It has an expert team in marine mapping, whose goal is to study the ocean floor through the mapping of depths, analyzing the quality of the land and its morphology, as well as the distribution of marine animal and plant species.
Dr. Araceli Muñoz is currently leading the Spanish seafloor mapping programs. She has a large experience in the acquisition and analysis of multibeam data, side-scan sonar and high-resolution seismic data, and has been involved in various research initiatives.
NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, is a Crown Research Institute established in 1992 to conduct leading environmental science to enable the sustainable management of natural resources for New Zealand and beyond. It has a recognized expert in geomorphology, marine geology, seafloor habitat, geophysics, landslides and submarine hazards.
Dr. Joshu Mountjoy is an ocean geologist. He has a MSc in Engineering Geology and a PhD in Geology. Joshu has authored over 20 publications on New Zealand’s continental margins.
Dr. Geoffroy Lamarche leads the Marine Geological Processes and Resources programme (SSIF, NIWA)and is Associate Professor in the University of Auckland. He has a large experience in marine geology, marine geophysics, geodynamics, tectonics and seafloor habitats.
The Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), University of Victoria, operates world-leading ocean observatories for the advancement of science and the benefit of Canada. The observatories collect data on physical, chemical, biological, and geological aspects of the ocean over long time periods, supporting research on complex Earth processes.
Dr. Fabio De Leo is Senior Staff Scientist at ONC. He is benthic ecologist specialized on deep-sea habitats, particularly submarine canyons, which are often hotspots of biodiversity and biomass. His is particularly interested in the impacts of human activities such as deep-sea fishing, ocean deoxygenation, and climate change on these biodiversity hotspots.