About
My research focuses on marine phytoplankton, oceanic microbes that form the base of the marine food web and that generated half of the oxygen in the atmosphere.
My work is highly interdisciplinary, encompassing biological, physical, and chemical oceanography and marine optics, and I use both observations and numerical modelling in my approach.
I am particularly interested in how phytoplankton growth and physiology are controlled by the physical environment. Much of my current research focuses on how light availability shapes phytoplankton biogeography and, in turn, how the community structure affects the surface ocean colour observed from satellites.
Specialties: Oceanography, phytoplankton, primary production, photophysiology, ecosystem modelling, biogeochemistry, marine optics, ecology
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- The role of marine phytoplankton in biogeochemical cycles
- Phytoplankton ecology, primary production, photo physiology and bio-optics
- Understanding the physical controls on biological processes and associated feedbacks
- Marine optics and application of satellite remote sensing in biological oceanography
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
Programme Lead: MSc Ocean and Earth Science by Research
Admissions Tutor: MSc Oceanography, MSc Ocean and Earth Science by Research
Teaching includes: SOES6083 MSc Ocean and Earth Science by Research - Research Project (module lead), SOES6084 MSc Key Skills for MSc Ocean and Earth Science by Research Students (module lead), SOES2006 Phytoplankton and Primary Production, SOES6070 Advanced Oceanography Feildwork,
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
- Lecturer, University of Southampton, UK (current position)
- Academic Fellow/Proleptic Lecturer, University of Southampton, UK
- NERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Essex and University of Southampton, UK
- Research Associate, University of Liverpool, UK
- Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
- Research Scientist, Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, UK
- Research Assistant, George Deacon Division, NERC, UK
- PhD Oceanography, University of Southampton, UK (completed 2007)
- MSc Oceanography (w. Distinction), University of Southampton, UK
- BSc Geology and Geophysics, Durham University, UK
Prizes
- Dean's Prize: Citizenship and All Round Contribution (2014)