Through the years Branch staff have conducted or participated in a variety of programs focused on understanding the influence of the physical environment on the recruitment of the commercially important fish stocks and on the productivity of the shelf ecosystem in general. These studies have included measurement and analysis of the regional physical oceanography, the zooplankton populations, and dynamics of the early life history (ELH) of the fish stocks.

Over the last decade Branch staff have participated in the US GLOBEC Georges Bank program (see www.globec.whoi.edu). The goal of the program is to understand the implications of climate change on the Georges Bank ecosystem, with particularly reference to the recruitment of the Bank's cod and haddock stocks. Intensive field work was conducted from 1995-1999. Synthesis activities for the program are underway and are anticipated to continue through 2009.

Within the GLOBEC program Branch staff were involved in:

• Bank-wide water property variability (contact jon.hare@noaa.gov)
• Bank-wide larval growth and mortality (contact jon.hare@noaa.gov)
• Dynamics of cod and haddock ELH (contact Gregory.Lough@noaa.gov)
• Coupled bio-physical modeling of the ELH for cod and haddock (contact Gregory.Lough@noaa.gov)
• Biochemical indices of larval condition (contact Elaine.Caldarone@noaa.gov)

During 2001-2002, the Branch collaborated with the Irish Marine Institute in a GLOBEC-like program focused in the Irish Sea (contact Gregory.Lough@noaa.gov).

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