My current research interests are in AMOC and subpolar gyre dynamics and climate change, and the changes they drive in ecosystem-relevant fluxes in the North Atlantic.

I use ocean modelling and Lagrangian particle tracking techniques to examine recent variability in circulation pathways. The addition of larval behaviour to the Lagrangian models allows the modelling of connectivity between deep-sea benthic populations and prediction of how connectivity might change under future conditions of changing circulation, ocean acidification and increasing exploitation of the deep-sea.

I am also interested in developing methods, using techniques from multi-objective optimisation and network analysis, to include connectivity information in conservation planning in the deep sea.

Current research projects

ATLAS. Funded by EU Horizon 2020. 2016-20. My roles within ATLAS are the analysis of data from the new physical and ecosystem flux arrays; and modelling the impact of biological parameters on the Lagrangian connectivity of North Atlantic ecosystems.

Blue-Action. Funded by EU Horizon 2020. 2016-21. My role is within a work package examining lower latitude drivers of Arctic changes, where SAMS leads the research on mechanisms of heat and freshwater transfer from subpolar gyres to the Arctic regions.

Highlight past projects

Daphne Jackson Fellowship. Funded by Heriot-Watt University. 2014-16. The Daphne Jackson Trust helps return STEM researchers to their careers after a break. In 2014 I received one of their Fellowships on “A graph theory approach to assessing connectivity of protected areas in Scottish waters with particular application to cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa.”