Oceans and Climate
We are addressing fundamental questions about the role of the ocean in a changing climate across space and time.
Our research includes understanding ocean-atmosphere interactions related to heat and carbon storage, sea level change, the effect of multiple stressors on marine ecosystems and developing techniques to detect pollutants. Our research delivers the new knowledge essential for national and international climate change impact assessments and policy initiatives, including those by Defra and the IPCC.
We have strong links to other areas of the University that have active research programs in sustainable energy and climate change. These include the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy and the University’s new research theme on Future Energy.
Research Highlights
Some of our recent projects under the Oceans and Climate theme:
How the Gulf Stream affects climate change and carbon cycle
This project aims to better understand the role of the Gulf Stream on the carbon cycle, given that the ocean takes up nearly 25% of the extra carbon emitted to the atmosphere. The natural carbon sinks in the ocean and land are thought to be becoming less effective in taking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, a key finding of the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) report. This ocean and land carbon uptake then ultimately affects how much carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere and so affects how much our climate system continues to warm, including determining whether there is continued warming when we reach net zero.
CarTRidge: Enhanced carbon export driven by internal tides over the mid-Atlantic ridge
Most plankton growth in the ocean occurs in the warm surface waters, where there is plenty of sunlight. This warm layer is separated from deeper, colder, nutrient-rich waters by the thermocline. The team previously found that underwater waves travelling along the thermocline increased supplies of nutrients and light to the plankton at the sea surface. This project will investigate how turbulence generated over the ridge leads to increased export of carbon from the sea surface to the ocean depths.
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/earth-ocean-and-ecological-sciences/news/stories/title,1388329,en.html
An expert's view
Professor Ric Williams explains how universities can act as powerhouses for change, by finding solutions to some of the issues causing climate change.
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