Dr Peter Robins

Senior Lecturer in Physical Oceanography

Contact info

Office location: Room 115, Marine Centre Wales, Menai Bridge

(Tel: 01248 383961)

Email:  p.robins@bangor.ac.uk

Author profiles: Google Scholar | Researchgate

I am a Senior Lecturer in Physical Oceanography at the School of Ocean Sciences. I was awarded my Degree in Physical Oceanography and Mathematics at Bangor University in 2003 and my Ph.D in 2008, where I investigated the internal tide in the Gareloch: a Scottish fjord. My postdoctoral and academic career has focused on physical modelling studies for Coastal and Estuarine processes including flooding, morphodynamics, water quality, marine renewable energy, biophysical larval transport, and climate change.

I develop computer models to simulate ocean processes, whether this is realistic representations of the past or future, or hypothetical scenarios such as a proposed coastal alteration like flood mitigation measures. I have studied estuaries at fine scales to understand their sensitivity to complex interactions of rivers, tides, surges and sea-level rise, and how these interactions control coastal flooding, plastic dispersal, water quality and human health. I develop methods to characterise the bio-physical dispersal of larvae to help understand population dynamics and aid fishery and shellfishery management. I am interested in characterising variabilities in tidal energy available for our exploitation as a renewable electricity source – and quantifying the likely environmental implications that this may have. 

 

Contact Info

Office location: Room 115, Marine Centre Wales, Menai Bridge

(Tel: 01248 383961)

Email:  p.robins@bangor.ac.uk

Author profiles: Google Scholar | Researchgate

I am a Senior Lecturer in Physical Oceanography at the School of Ocean Sciences. I was awarded my Degree in Physical Oceanography and Mathematics at Bangor University in 2003 and my Ph.D in 2008, where I investigated the internal tide in the Gareloch: a Scottish fjord. My postdoctoral and academic career has focused on physical modelling studies for Coastal and Estuarine processes including flooding, morphodynamics, water quality, marine renewable energy, biophysical larval transport, and climate change.

I develop computer models to simulate ocean processes, whether this is realistic representations of the past or future, or hypothetical scenarios such as a proposed coastal alteration like flood mitigation measures. I have studied estuaries at fine scales to understand their sensitivity to complex interactions of rivers, tides, surges and sea-level rise, and how these interactions control coastal flooding, plastic dispersal, water quality and human health. I develop methods to characterise the bio-physical dispersal of larvae to help understand population dynamics and aid fishery and shellfishery management. I am interested in characterising variabilities in tidal energy available for our exploitation as a renewable electricity source – and quantifying the likely environmental implications that this may have. 

 

Teaching and Supervision

I currently supervise the following PhD students as primary supervisor:

Mirko Barada - Coastal flooding: using historical records to mitigate future risk. [Cemlyn Jones]

Thomas Clough - Predicting future compound hazards of coastal flooding [KESS-Dwr Cymru Welsh Water]

Aaron Furnish - Pathways to Realistic Impact Modelling in Estuarine Areas [NERC ENVISION]

Megan O'Hara - What drives cold pulses at remote tropical reefs? [NERC ENVISION]

Ankita Bhattacharya - The influence of groundwater to future flood risk [NERC ENVISION]

.... and as co-supervisor:

Nia Jones - Dispersal of Microplastics in the Marine Environment. [NERC ENVISION]

Nic Chopin (MPhil) – variability in the Irish Mussel shellfishery [BIM]

Deanna Groom - Historical Shipwrecks and the impacts of climate change [Private]

Guy Walker-Springett - Sediment transport processes along the North Wales coast [KESS-SeftonCouncil]

Claire Carrington - Understanding responses of coastal seabirds to local and daily-scale meteorological variations [NERC ENVISION]

Jake Jackman - There and back again: monitoring the returning fish to the Mersey estuary [Salford/Bangor/MerseyGateway]

Nina Baskerville - Using an interdisciplinary approach to elucidate pollution impacts and antimicrobial resistant pathogen dynamics across terrestrial, estuarine and marine environments [NERC - SuMMeR]

Kaila Kormblum - Factors limiting marine connectivity at a species range edge – the case of the pink sea fan, Eunicella verrucosa [NERC - SuMMeR]

Lauren Evans - Using prey availability metrics to explain the foraging distribution of deep-diving seabirds.  

Grant Awards and Projects

2022      MEECE [CI, £465K]

2022      Bangor Innovation and Impact Award: Social Flooding [CO, £10K]

2022      HORIZON BlueAdapt: Adapting to climate change impacts on coastal pathogens [CI, £846K]

2022      National Geographic, Seal Tagging [CI, £20K]

2021      NERC: SHEAR: The impact of the physical environment on the foraging energetics of shearwaters and the consequences for breeding success.  [CI, £780K]

2021      Nature Networks Fund: Sharks Inspiring Action and Research with Communities. [PI, £25K]

2021      British Council:   Addressing Marine Plastic Waste & Climate Change in Indonesia. [PI, £46K]

2020      GCRF-Bangor: Mitigation of Marine Plastic Waste in Indonesian Waters. [PI, £40K]

2020      NERC-UKCRP: Sensitivity of Estuaries to Climate Change (SEARCH) [PI, £200K]

2020      NERC: Marine Plastic Pollution in the Philippines (SEAmap)  [CI, £821K]

2020      UKRI: National Wastewater Epidemiology Surveillance Programme (NWESP) [CI, £90K]

2019      NERC: Survival/persistence/ecology of microbial communities on marine plastics [CI, £479K]

2019      GCRF-Bangor: Emergence/distribution of human/animal viruses in Nigeria waters [CI, £70K]

2019      Welsh Gov: EIA for shellfisheries licence in the Menai Strait  [£21K]

2019      EMFF: Menai Offshore Subsurface Shellfish Systems (MOSSS) [CI, £750K]

2019      FSA: Develop assurance scheme for shellfish & human health (DASSHH)  [CI, £150K]

2017-18 NERC ERIIP (NE/R009007/1): Combination Hazard of Extreme rainfall, storm Surge & high Tide on estuarine infrastructure (CHEST). (T Coulthard, P Robins, M Lewis) £39K.

2017-20 INTERREG Atlantic Area Programme: COCKLES (Boosting Co-operation and integration of Capacities for applying Knowledge and mutual Learning in Restoring Cockle Shellfisheries and its related Ecosystem-Services in the Atlantic Area). (S Malham, P Robins, et al) £347K.  Led by CETMAR in Spain. 

2017-21 INTERREG: ECOSTRUCTURE (S Jenkins, A Davies, S Neill, P Robins, et al) ~£610k. Led by Aberystwyth.

2017 Sêr Cymru NRN Research Development Fund: Grant proposal development award. (P Robins, M Lewis, S Neill) £5k.

2017-20 INTERREG Ireland-Wales Programme: Bluefish (Building Resilience into Blue Growth in the Irish and Celtic Seas Fisheries and Aquaculture). (S Malham, P Robins, L LeVay, M Kaiser, et al.) £1.4m (Part of 6.6m euros multipartner).

2017-18 INTERREG Ireland -Wales Programme: Irish Sea Portal Pilot (ISPP). (S Malham, P Robins, L LeVay, et al.) £620k (part of 1.4 m euros with BIM in Ireland).

2017 FSA Desk based study: Active Management of Shellfisheries. (S Malham, L LeVayP Robins, et al.) £28k.  

2016 Sêr Cymru NRN Research Development Fund: Grant proposal development award. (M Lewis, P Robins, S Neill) £5k.

2016 Sêr Cymru NRN Research Development Fund: Tidal Lagoon Workshop. (S Neill, M Lewis, P Robins) £10k.

2015-18 KESS II ESF PhD studentship. Simulating variability of North Wales mussel populations (S Neill, P Robins, S Malham) £54k.

2015-18 NERC EMHH (NE/M010996/1): New approaches for the quantitative detection of human pathogenic viruses within the freshwater-marine continuum (D Jones, S Malham, J McDonnald, P Robins, et al.) £465k.

2015-17 NATIONAL PRIORITY RESEARCH PROGRAM (NPRP 7-1302 -1-242): Ecological processes underlying ecosystem function in arid mangroves. (L LeVay, et al) £235k.

2012-15 HPCWales-Fujitsu PhD studenship: Development of an integrated catchment-to-coast modelling system. (R Hashemi, et al) £70k.

2008-13 CCW: Morphodynamic modelling of Welsh estuaries. (A Davies, P Robins) ~£100k.

Postgraduate Project Opportunities

I welcome potential Phd projects on a range of coastal oceanography topics: e.g. estuarine processes, flood risk, water quality, coastal dispersal, marine renewable energy, sediment transport and climate change. Please get in touch with your ideas...

Please visit findaphd.com for up-to-date funded phd opportunities...

Education / academic qualifications

  • 2008 - PhD , Modelling internal tides
  • MSc , Physical Oceanography and Maths
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