Cluster
Cluster 1: Climate-Ocean-Ecosystem Interactions
Cluster 1 aims to elucidate the interactions among climate variability, ocean physicochemical environments, biogeochemical processes, and marine ecosystems through an integrated crossdisciplinary approach combining observations, experiments, and modeling. Working closely with the University of Hawai'i, WPI-AIMEC's international satellite institute, the cluster will focus on large-scale oceanic variability and ecosystem responses in the Northwest Pacific, surface-tomesopelagic coupling, and biogeochemical cycling, thereby advancing mechanistic understanding of climate-ocean-ecosystem dynamics essential for ecosystem prediction.
Cluster 2: Coastal Marine Ecosystem Change
Cluster 2 aims to advance mechanistic understanding of coastal ocean-ecosystem dynamics through cross-disciplinary research and international collaborations, with Onagawa Bay serving as a core observational and testing field. Building on this foundation, Cluster 2 will extend its research scope from Japanese coastal waters to subtropical and subarctic regions. By addressing emerging coastal ecosystem risks such as marine heatwaves, deoxygenation, harmful algal blooms, and abrupt oceanographic changes, Cluster 2 seeks to establish a scientific basis for assessing and predicting coastal ecosystem responses, adaptability, vulnerabilities, recovery processes, and resilience.
Cluster 3: Projection and Planetary Stewardship
Cluster 3 aims to advance the assessment and prediction of marine ecosystem change, including changes associated with human activities, through an integrated cross-/transdisciplinary approach combining artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data science, mathematical modeling, oceanographic observations, biodiversity data including eDNA, and citizen science. By building a scientific knowledge base that supports stewardship from regional to global scales, Cluster 3 will contribute to the ocean economy, ocean policy, international collaboration, and the formation of strategic partnerships and alliances.