Address:

316 Westbury Mount

School of Ocean Sciences

Bangor University

Menai Bridge LL59 5AB

Wales, UK

Web: ResearchGate; Google Scholar

Overview: 

I am an observational marine scientist with broad research interests lying at the interface between physical oceanography and marine ecology. I am interested in the following themes: marine optics and its relevance to algal productivity and distribution; hydrodynamics and other abiotic factors and their influence on the biogeography, structure, and function of vulnerable marine ecosystems; water masses, ocean currents, and stratification and their role in ocean circulation, climate regulation, and biophysical ecology.

I have a background in physics and ocean sciences, completing a Ph.D. (Bangor University, Wales) in 2015 on tidal modulation of seabed light and its implications for benthic algae. Since then I have undertaken post-docs in deep-sea research at Bangor and at the University of Bergen (Norway), before returning to Bangor to work on an ocean-atmosphere climate change project, ArctiCONNECT.      

Research Areas: Marine Ecology; Ocean Physics; Earth System Science and Climate Change.

Teaching

• Produced an undergraduate textbook 'Tides: A Very Short Introduction' (OUP, 2019) together with Prof. D.G. Bowers
• Sponges lecture, BNS 1002 Organismal Diversity, Bangor University (2017)
• Marine Optics Short Course, Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique (2012)
• Many and various teaching assistant/demonstrating/school's outreach roles.

Supervision

Nuffield Research Placement Students:

• Bryn Harris (2016) - deep-sea research
• Gokul Krishna (2017) - deep-sea research

NERC Research Experience Placement Students:

• Richard Anderson (from Uni. Strathclyde; 2017) - water masses/sponge biogeography project

ERASMUS Research Internships:

• Florian Barge (from ENSTA-Bretagne; 2022) - Arctic wind forcing changes with sea-ice decline

M.Sc. Students:

• Christina Thiele (2013) - tidal light variation effects on the behaviour of starfish
• Heidi Meyer (2017) - spatial patterns and community composition of an Arctic sponge ground

Ph.D. Students:

• Heidi Meyer (2018-22) - Arctic deep-sea sponge ground ecosystems

Grant Awards:

• EQUINOR Industry-Sponsored Research Project (2019) - approx. 1,000,000 NOK - investigation of hydrothermal vent sites near mid-ocean ridges (proposal contribution; grant currently managed by Dr. Pedro Ribeiro, University of Bergen)
• NERC Research Experience Placement Grant (2017) - approx. £2,500 - 8-week stipend for a student to work under my supervision mapping sponge species to water masses in the Nordic Seas

Projects (worked on):

• NERC-funded ArctiCONNECT project (2021-present)
• EU Horizon 2020-funded SponGES project (2016-2020)
• NERC-funded BRITICE CHRONO and CLAM projects (2015-2016)
• NERC-funded DTP project (Ph.D.; 2010-2015) - Tidal modulation of seabed light
• NERC/MoD-funded project (2010) - Application of remote sensing to the measurement of marine particle sizes and their relation to turbulence.