Professor Yannick Huot, director of CARTEL, holds the Canada Research Chair in Earth Observation and Phytoplankton Ecophysiology.
As the chairholder, Yannick Huot and his research team focus on four main research themes :
- Phytoplankton photophysiology in the laboratory
The objective of this research theme is to describe phytoplankton photophysiological responses (mostly photosynthesis, photoacclimation, photoregulation, photoadaptation and chlorophyll fluorescence) using simple mathematical models based on laboratory experiments. - Automated plankton observation in lakes
The main objective in this theme is to observe and quantify phytoplankton and zooplankton processes in lakes using high frequency (order of hours) long timeseries (order of years). This will be achieved by deploying a state-of-the-art profiling lake observatory which will allow observation of individual phytoplankton cells as well as the most important abiotic factors controlling their growth. - Photochemistry in a melting Arctic
As the sea ice cover decreases in the Arctic, the amount of light reaching the surface waters is increasing. This will lead to an increase in two important photochemical reactions: 1) photosynthesis which tends to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and 2) photo-oxidation of colored dissolved matter which tends to add CO2 to the atmosphere. Professor Yannick Huot and his research team are participating in an international research project, Malina, whose main objective is to examine the balance between these two processes in the future Arctic ocean. - Ocean colour remote sensing
There are two aspects of ocean color remote sensing that Professor Yannick Huot will be pursuing over the next few years. The first will be the utilisation of sun-induced fluorescence and the second will be a study to second order variability in the ocean. In both, his interest is to understand how he can obtain more information about phytoplankton from ocean color beyond a simple measure of biomass.
Additional information:
Canada Research Chair in Earth Observation and Phytoplankton Ecophysiology website
Professor Yannick Huot – Director of CARTEL