Gabriela Escobar

Maria Gabriela Escobar Franco Physico-geochemical modelling of the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) hydrotermal  source Or The modelling of tracers/particles coming from a deep-sea hydrothermal source

The aim is to model the dispersion of geochemical tracers emitted by this source. In this context, Gabriela is focusing on helium, because it is a chemical element that does not react with others and remains stable over time, which enables her to study the dynamics of the seabed that transports tracers. Gabriela is also interested in the iron injected by the hydrothermal source in order to study, in more detail, the biochemical processes that stabilise this element in water, transport it by currents, or precipitate it around the source. Iron is an important element in the ocean food chain, and the input of dissolved iron from hydrothermal sources is being studied using numerical modelling. These modelling experiments allow us to determine the trajectory of the tracers thanks to the dynamics of the seafloor, but also to identify the geochemical processes involved.

Why this subject ?

The post doc had already been created and Gabriela chose it, because there was numerical modelling to be done with CROCO, a model she had already used in another context during her PhD.  The challenge of this post-doc is to combine the physical and biochemical parts. It was an opportunity to get to know even more about CROCO and to learn new things.

A funny story related to this subject ?

During one of the first work package presentation meetings Gabriela attended, she discovered the hydrothermal vent shrimps. At the end of the meeting, she waited for everyone to leave the room to ask her colleague if the shrimp could be eaten.