Understanding harmful algae in stratified systems: Review of progress and future directions

The Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (GEOHAB) program of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, was created in 1999 to foster research on the ecological and oceanographic mechanisms underlying the population dynamics of harmful algal blooms (HABs). The ultimate goal of this research is to develop observational systems and models that will eventually enable the prediction of HABs and thereby minimize their impact on marine ecosystems, human health and economic activities. In August of 2012, a workshop was held under the umbrella of the GEOHAB program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). The over arching goal of this workshop was to review the current understanding of the processes governing the structure and dynamics of HABs in stratified systems, and to identify how best to couple physical/chemical and biological measurements at appropriate spatial and temporal scales to quantify the dynamics of HABs in these systems, paying particular attention to thin layers. This contribution provides a review of recent progress in the field of HAB research in stratified systems including thin layers, and identifies the gaps in knowledge that our scientific community should strive to understand in the next decade.