Mirjam van der Mheen

Coastal oceanography and the physical drivers behind the export and potential sequestration of kelp carbon to the deep sea (Postdoc)

In collaboration with marine ecologists, I am determining the carbon sequestration potential of kelp forests and their role in the global ocean carbon cycle. I determined the physical mechanisms that transport kelp detritus from the coastal ocean into the deep sea and demonstrated that their carbon sequestration potential may be larger than initially believed.

I am determining how kelp detritus is transported from Australia’s Great Southern Reef into the deep sea, as part of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Discovery Project DP220100650. Together with a team of marine ecologists and geneticists, we will determine the Great Southern Reef’s contribution to global carbon sequestration and its potential to contribute to climate change mitigation.

Qualifications

  • 2020 PhD: Physical Oceanography, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Thesis title: Transport and accumulation of buoyant marine plastic debris in the Indian Ocean.
  • 2012 MSc: Meteorology, Physical Oceanography and Climate, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Thesis title: A complex network based early warning signal of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) collapse.
  • 2009 BSc: Physics & Astronomy, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Thesis title: Minimal glacier model of Breidamerkurjökull.

Peer reviewed publications (selected)

Full publication list: Google Scholar

  1. van der Mheen M & Pattiaratchi (2024) Plastic debris beaching on two remote Indian Ocean islands originates from handful of Indonesian rivers. Environmental Research Letters, 19:10.
  2. Starko S, van der Mheen M, Pessarrodona A, Wood CV, Filbee-Dexter K, Neufield CJ, Montie SM, Coleman MA, Wernberg T (2024) Impacts of marine heatwaves in coastal ecosystems depend on local environmental conditions. Global Change Biology, 30:8.
  3. van der Mheen M, Wernberg T, Pattiaratchi C, Pessarrodona A, Janekovic I, Simpkins T, Hovey R, & Filbee-Dexter (2024) Substantial kelp detritus exported beyond the continental shelf by dense shelf water transport. Scientific Reports, 14:839.
  4. van der Mheen M, van Sebille E, Pattiaratchi C (2020). Beaching patterns of plastic debris along the Indian Ocean rim.  Ocean Science, 16.
  5. van der Mheen M, Pattiaratchi C, Cosoli S & Wandres M (2020) Depth-dependent correction for wind-driven drift current in particle tracking applications. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7.
  6. van der Mheen M, Pattiaratchi C & van Sebille E (2019) Role of Indian Ocean dynamics on accumulation of buoyant debris. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 124.

Technical reports (selected)

  1. Koefoed I, Kangas M, Hetzel Y, Gorman D, Denham A, Marks R, Hesp A, van der Mheen M (2024) Understanding the relationship between commercial prawn species population dynamics, fishing patterns and climate in the Shark Bay World Heritage area in WA, FRDC report 2019-015.
  2. Jackson G, Fairclough D, Fisher E, Hetzel Y, van der Mheen M, Scoulding B, Gillanders B, Reis-Santos P, Beheregaray L, Sandoval-Castillo J & Braccini M (2023) Where did the Snapper go? Determining factors influencing the recovery of Snapper stocks on the west coast of Australia, FRDC report 2018-050.

Popular science

  1. Pessarrodona A, Filbee-Dexter K, van der Mheen M, Wernberg T (2024) Buried kelp: seaweed carried to the deep sea stores more carbon than we thought. The Conversation.
  2. Rummer JL, Allen BJM, Pattiaratchi C, Bouyoucous IA, Yulianto Y, van der Mheen M (2020) It might be the world’s biggest ocean, but the mighty Pacific is in peril. The Conversation.
  3. van der Mheen C, Pattiaratchi C and van Sebille E (2019) There’s no garbage patch in the southern Indian Ocean, so where does all the rubbish go? The Conversation.

Selected achievements, prizes, honours and awards

  • 2024: UWA Early-career Research Award, Oceans Graduate School.
  • 2024: US-ClIVAR/OCB “Pathways connecting climate changes to the deep sea” workshop, travel grant.
  • 2024: Australia-Indonesia Institute Grants Program from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, research grant co-investigator.
  • 2023: ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting, travel grant.
  • 2021: Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, research grant, co-investigator.
  • 2020: Top downloaded paper 2018-2019 in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.
  • 2019-20: UWA Ad Hoc Scholarship.
  • 2018: Annual Estuarine & Coastal Sciences Association conference: Highly recommended oral student presentation award.
  • 2017: 3rd ICES/PICES Early Career Scientist Conference, travel grant.
  • 2016: UWA Oceans Institute Student Video Competition 1st prize.
  • 2016-19: UWA CFH, and EA Jenkins Postgraduate Research Scholarship.
  • 2016-19: Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship.