Environmental Science and Engineering Seminar

The Fk Framework is a thermodynamic-based theoretical system for predicting how living systems convert environmental energy into structured, information-rich states. The framework predicts many well-known ecological and evolutionary dynamics, including the collapse of climax ecosystems with increasing temperature. To empirically test and parameterize the framework's key variables (Energy, Work, Certainty, and Heat), we are deploying Coral Reef Arks; large marine mesocosms designed as experimental analogs of natural reef systems. These Arks enable real-time measurement of thermodynamic and ecological parameters under controlled perturbations. Beyond their scientific role, the Arks also serve as innovative tools for conservation and restoration, supporting the recovery of coral reef biodiversity and ecosystem function while providing a quantitative basis for predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change.