Controlling bioconvective plumes with environmental cues - Hélène de Maleprade and Francesco Picella (Institut Jean le Rond d'Alembert, Paris)

Phytoplankton is responsible for 50% of the yearly global O2 production. Environmental changes deeply affect its lifecycle and biological activity. Here, we consider bioconvection, a phenomenon spontaneously occurring in nature, where micro-organisms form large collective structures, enhancing nutrients and CO2 mixing. With experiments and numerics, we explore how light and confinement affect the dynamics of this collective motion.

Contact: Philippe Peyla