Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/P010628/1
Understanding controls on oxygen deficits in UK waters using a community ecosystem model and isotopic tools
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Dr J R Clark, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth Marine Lab
- Grant held at:
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth Marine Lab
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Marine
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Ocean - Atmosphere Interact.
- Gas exchange
- Ocean modelling
- Climate & Climate Change
- Ecosystem impacts
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Anthropogenic pressures
- Water pollution
- Pollution
- Abstract:
- Oxygen (02) is essential for complex marine life, including commercially important species of fish and shell fish. The concentration of O2 in seawater is controlled by multiple interdependent factors, including temperature and salinity, O2 exchange with the atmosphere, levels of biological production and consumption, and water transport and mixing. Natural phenomena can drive down O2 concentrations, especially in bottom waters that become isolated from the surface during seasonal stratification events. O2 depletion is also a known indirect consequence of eutrophication, in which high nutrient inputs fuel elevated levels of biological production which leads to an increase in the demand for O2 as sinking organic material is decomposed at depth. Consequently, the concentration of O2 is used as an assessment variable for Good Environmental Status (GES) with respect to eutrophication under the European Union (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), and as an identifier of Problem Areas under the OSPAR Comprehensive Procedure. The CASE partner Cefas is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and is tasked with monitoring GES and providing policy advice on the management of marine ecosystems in UK waters. Ongoing assessments have identified significant downward trends in O2 concentrations in the northern and southern North Sea and the English Channel. However, the assessments also identified significant gaps in the data and monitoring practices, as well as a lack of understanding of how the interactions between physical, biological and climatological processes control the concentration of O2. This ambitious PhD project aims at narrowing these gaps in data and understanding using a combination of i) new and archived data, and ii) model simulations of the North West European Shelf Seas. The main objectives of the project are i) to identify the dominant driving mechanisms behind changes in O2 in UK waters; ii) to identify at risk areas that could be targeted for improved monitoring and/or management under different future scenarios; and iii) assess the use of oxygen isotopes for gaining a better understanding of controls on oxygen depletion. The project brings together highly experienced scientists from three world-leading research institutions: Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), the University of East Anglia (UEA), and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences (Cefas). The project combines PML's expertise in the development, running and analysis of coupled marine hydrodynamic-biogeochemical models; UEA's expertise in laboatory and field based measurements of light elements, their compounds and isotopes; and Cefas' experience and expertise in using models and data to inform UK policy through its links to the Defra. The project will lead to a significant advance in our understanding of controls on dissolved oxygen concentrations in UK waters which will directly benefit a range of stakeholders, including marine scientists, UK policy makers and the public.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/P010628/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Industrial CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £88,292
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|
| £17,296 | £11,000 | £59,998 |
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