Software gives answers about the sea

Reviews with software. Samuel Morsbach, PhD student at C2B2 examines marine environments using the program Ecopath with Ecosim.

He has his workplace at the Tjärnö Marina laboratory. There, Samuel Morsbach sits by his computer, immersed in analyzes of how things like offshore wind power and other things affect the marine environment.
– It is a very special tool I work with, he says.

The software Ecopath with Ecosim* is developed by several researchers with a focus on marine environments. A program that is notoriously complicated to use, with at least a year’s break-in period – for an expert – before results can be obtained.
But Samuel Morsbach, PhD student at the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Gothenburg, thinks the picture is a bit exaggerated.
– If you’re investigating human impact on marine ecosystems, then it is really good to have. But I wouldn’t call it rocket science, he says.
Samuel Morsbach is attached to Mistra C2B2’s work package 1, Open ecosystems and climate change. He is also involved in work package 4, Living labs.
His mother tongue is German, he comes from Hamburg, but after less than a year as a doctoral student, he speaks fluent Swedish.
– Although, there is an explanation for that. My parents have a cottage between Örnsköldsvik and Sundsvall, and I was also an exchange student in Flen when I went to high school.

Plugs in data and makes simulations
In his doctoral thesis, he uses Ecopath with Ecosim to analyze how, for example, an offshore wind turbine affects the animal life in the surrounding sea. The program does simulations based on the data he puts in, then he draws conclusions.
– For example, it could be about porpoises and how they react to changes in the environment, and to the underwater noise that the power plant creates.
According to Samuel Morsbach, the big challenge of working in Ecopath with Ecosim, is entering relevant data into the model .
– There is a lot of data to be found that deals with the entire North Sea, but I have to be able to break it down to the specific area that I am investigating, he says.
Even without having access to advanced software – or even being a researcher at all – it is still possible to draw some correct conclusions about how the bottom environment is affected by a construction such as a wind turbine. Like that it is an obvious advantage for the fish stock that it is not possible to trawl in an offshore wind farm, which at least at first glance may seem positive.
– But I would be careful to say that. The fish, they lose areas of their natural bottom environment, which they obviously perceive as bad.
Samuel Morsbach himself does not take a position on what is good or bad. As a researcher, he has no bias, the results must be able to stand for themselves without a filter of personal opinions.
– The job is about analyzing the effects and finding the best solution, he says.

Digital models
So far, he has no results to present. He says that the first months of work were spent mostly on planning and getting an idea of ​​what is possible.
– After that, I spent the summer building digital models. But it takes a long time to find the right format, and to feed the model with the right information. Now I look forward to receiving feedback on my models from various stakeholders.
Even though working with the software has its challenges, he thinks the job is fun.
– It´s like a private eye investigation where you have to find information that doesn’t exist yet. Anyone who sees me sitting in front of the computer all day might think it looks boring, but tom me it´s a bit like working on a complicated puzzle.

* Footnote: The first versions of Ecopath came already in 1984. The software has been developed over the years and a simulation function has been added.

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