Dante Horemans

ORCID

0000-0003-0106-8122

Research Project

My research focuses on forecasting harmful algal blooms (HABs) and Vibrio in the Chesapeake Bay. We are currently developing empirical habitat suitability models for a variety of HABs to forecast the occurrence of HABs based on a set of physical-biogeochemical environmental conditions. We studied how model complexity and training information (i.e., in situ observations versus environmental mechanistic model output) affects the empirical model's ability to forecast blooms. We used these insights to couple an empirical habitat model for the HAB taxon Prorocentrum minimum to the mechanistic well-established Chesapeake Bay Regional Ocean Modeling System (ChesROMS) Estuarine Carbon Biogeochemistry (ECB) model. This coupling added a first HAB taxon into our suite of forecasts available on the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Forecasting System website.

Research interests and background

I am particularly interested in constructing mathematical models of biogeochemical and physical dynamics in estuaries and applying them using observations. I am especially intrigued by biophysical interactions, such as the impact of phytoplankton on suspended sediment through flocculation, as studied during my Ph.D.

My Ph.D. research was very interdisciplinary. I have a Bachelor's and Master's degree in theoretical Physics (both Magna Cum Laude) and did my Ph.D. research at the Department of Biology (Antwerp, Belgium) in close collaboration with Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics (Delft, Netherlands). I coupled an existing numerical hydro-sediment transport model, iFlow, to a flocculation and phytoplankton model, which I applied using extensive in situ observations in the Scheldt estuary (Belgium, Netherlands).

Selected Publications

Horemans, D. M. L., Friedrichs, M. A. M., St-Laurent, P., Hood, R. R., & Brown, C. W. (2024). Evaluating the skill of correlative species distribution models trained with mechanistic model output. Ecological Modelling, 491, 110692. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECOLMODEL.2024.110692

Horemans, D. M. L., Friedrichs, M. A. M., St-Laurent, P., Hood, R. R., & Brown, C. W. (2023). Forecasting Prorocentrum minimum blooms in the Chesapeake Bay using empirical habitat models. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 433. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1127649

Horemans, D. M. L., Dijkstra, Y. M., Tackx, M., Meire, P., & Cox, T. J. (2023). Evolution of multi-annual and large-scale phytoplankton patterns in the Scheldt estuary: The disappearance of phytoplankton accumulation in the brackish region. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 282, 108258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108258

Horemans, D. M. L. (2022). Unraveling the coupled large-scale suspended sediment and phytoplankton dynamics in a turbid and tide-dominated estuary. PhD thesis, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. ISBN 978-90-5728-724-4. https://repository.uantwerpen.be/docstore/d:irua:10273 (pdf).

Horemans, D. M. L., Dijkstra, Y. M., Schuttelaars, H. M., Sabbe, K., Vyverman, W., Meire, P., & Cox, T. J. S. (2021). Seasonal variations in flocculation and erosion affecting the large-scale suspended sediment distribution in the Scheldt estuary: The importance of biotic effects. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 126, e2020JC016805. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016805.

Horemans, D. M. L., Dijkstra, Y. M., Schuttelaars, H. M., Meire, P., & Cox, T. J. S. (2020). Unraveling the essential effects of flocculation on large-scale sediment transport patterns in a tide-dominated estuary. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 50(7). https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-19-0232.1

Horemans, D. M. L., Meire, P., & Cox, T. J. S. (2020). The impact of temporal variability in lightclimate on time-averaged primary production and a phytoplankton bloom in a well-mixed estuary. Ecological Modelling, 436, 109287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109287